


Fellowship

by Darkhorse26, GMustang94, LegendaryBiologist13



Category: Chrono Cross
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Digimon Tamers Fusion, Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, Blood and Gore, Blood and Injury, Drama, Fantasy, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Original Character(s), Shounen Fights, Slice of Life, Some Humor
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-06-02
Updated: 2014-07-29
Packaged: 2018-01-25 14:03:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 13
Words: 76,238
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1651271
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Darkhorse26/pseuds/Darkhorse26, https://archiveofourown.org/users/GMustang94/pseuds/GMustang94, https://archiveofourown.org/users/LegendaryBiologist13/pseuds/LegendaryBiologist13
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The characters from the video game Chrono Cross emerge at Shinjuku. As three of them team up with some children and try to resolve the conflicts between themselves, a government organization is planning to eradicate the characters from the real world once and for all.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Dream a Little Dream

**Author's Note:**

> ooo is a line break. Italic is for indicating thoughts and dreams. This work has been posted at fanfiction.net under Chrono Cross category and deviantart.com.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pip, a character from Chrono Cross, emerges at Shinjuku. Is this a sign that other characters can appear in the real world as well?

The sun was a shining disk of white on the blue sky. It sprayed down rays that slanted through the gigantic fossils atop a mossy valley.

Pip was standing in front of the fossils. For him, this sight was fascinating as he had never gone outside his cage since he was born.

"This is all so beautiful!" Pip said, jumping repeatedly in excitement. "I want to see more of this scenery!"

Like a kangaroo, he skipped to his left side, where he could see wisps of fog down the cliff face. Shocked, he squeaked and then skipped to his right side.

"Scary…" he muttered; his heart throbbing quickly.

Suddenly, he heard noise of howling wind coming from his front. Looking ahead towards the source of the noise, he saw a silhouette of a horned dinosaur's head. He tiptoed towards the shadow slowly. He was curious, but also afraid. Who knew that it was really a ferocious beast?

However, his curiosity trumped his fear. He continued tiptoeing, and then started walking slowly, slowly…until he decided to skip ahead quickly.

"Wow!"

It was merely a skull of a horned dragon with its toothless maw wide open. Its horns and eye sockets were somewhat cracked. Inside its mouth, there was a swirling portal of white light.

"What's that?" Pip asked.

He skipped towards the gate of light. As he got closer, goose bumps spread across his body as cool wind blew from the portal.

"Creepy... But is this dangerous?"

Pip stepped ahead. Looking at the portal, he felt like there was a magnetic force pulling him into it. He skipped back, trying to resist against the pull.

Unfortunately, he failed. The force easily sent him skimming through the air before entering the portal. The sight of the mossy valley turned into the sight of a pitch black area with fluorescent green tiles and pillars.

"What's this?" Pip asked silently as he turned his head left and right, looking at the green glow coming from the objects around him.

Suddenly, the green radiance disappeared, and it was now replaced by the sight of a crowded sidewalk. People were walking back and forth there with either briefcases or bags in their hands.

Looking down, Pip saw that the floor was entirely grey, unlike what he usually saw.

"Strange… The floor isn't mossy or craggy. It's just full of smooth grey squares," Pip said, placing his right paw on the backside of his head.

Suddenly, a leg came down and was about to stomp Pip. He jumped aside and put a paw on his chest, letting out a sigh of relief afterwards.

"I'm so small here! Luckily I'm not squashed!" Pip said. He then turned and walked towards a boutique behind him.

Standing still in front of the boutique's door, he asked in his mind, _Why aren't the people here carrying big stuffs like axes or swords? There's no fighting here?_

ooo

Today was Thursday.

Inside the canteen of Shinjuku Elementary, there were only five hanging lamps in the enormous canteen, but thanks to the large number of windows, the sunlight was enough to illuminate the entire area. A few huge air conditioners were attached on the wall, blowing cool air to the entire cafeteria. Thirty rectangular tables were lined neatly in the canteen, just like marching soldiers.

Sitting at one of the tables were two boys. In front of them, there were two boxes beside two plastic boards. One of them is red, while another one is yellow. On one side of the red board, there was a picture of a yellow dragon. Beside the picture, there was a set of colorful chips arranged neatly in eight rows. The first few rows were moderately long, while the last few lines were rather short. On one side of the yellow board, there was a picture of a little cave girl. Beside the picture, there was a set of colorful chips. They were placed neatly, just like the ones on the red plank, but the first few rows were very long and colorful, while the last few were very short.

Ari Yamamoto loved red innate characters from Chrono Cross. Aside from him having Draggy in his red board, he was also wearing red t-shirt, though not with red breeches. Instead, he was wearing a pair of black trousers.

Picking up a red chip from the red plank, Ari said, "Draggy uses Volcano on Leah!"

Ari was battling against Akira Hayabusa, a fan of yellow innate. Despite him wearing all black, Akira had Leah in his yellow plank. Unlike Ari, he had a habit of using support elements, particularly attack-boosting ones.

"Leah still has 260 HP left. Now, Leah uses Strengthen!" Akira exclaimed, taking out a red chip from the yellow board.

"Leah's stamina recovery is slow, so why are you using buffs, Akira?" Ari questioned, scratching his head.

"Well, you can't always win without buffs, Ari. You see, I have almost all kind of buffs in Leah's grid," Akira answered, smiling.

Suddenly, the bass noise of a horn shook the eardrums of the Ari and Akira, who immediately covered their ears with their hands. It almost blew off their ears.

"It's been three days since the bell was broken. I'd rather hear the fire alarm than this loud horn. Stingy school society…" Ari complained, standing up.

After picking up the colorful chips quickly, Akira put them and the board into a small box. "Let's go! I don't wanna be late to class. Miss Satoko will get mad." Soon, he stood up and ran off with the box, leaving a trail of smoke behind.

"Wait for me!" Ari shouted as Akira had gone quite far from the spot he was standing now.

No answer. Ari, who trembled upon knowing that he would be late for sure, picked up his board without removing the chips first. However, his hands were so shaky that he dropped the plank to the ground and even the box. The colorful chips were now scattered throughout the ground.

Ari sighed. "What a mess!"

He crouched, but when he was about to pick up the chips, he saw a glimmering rainbow chip amidst the mess.

_What's that? I've never seen that element chip before… Is it the Chrono Cross, just like in the original game?_ Ari wondered.

He picked up the rainbow chip, which radiated rainbow light as he brought it closer to his face. _It is known to be an element that can bring miracles, so...I'll try inserting it into my board. Who knows that I can get a stronger Draggy? Or better, maybe Draggy will really come alive once I insert this element?_

Ari picked up his red board and inserted the chip into one of the slots. All of a sudden, the plank shone brightly, forcing Ari to squint. However, he insisted to see what was happening due to his curiosity. Although his eyes were partially shut, he could see the red board shrinking into the size of a remote control. The slot where Draggy was had gone; it was replaced with a blank monitor instead. Below the screen, two small rectangles rose with left and right arrow keys printed on them. Beside them, the grid merged into one and spawned a long slim slot. At the lower part of the device, a thin plug emerged.

_What's this strange gadget? Where has the Chrono Cross element gone?_

The light from the gadget abated slowly, until what was left was only the strange item. Picking up the 'remote control', Ari brought it close to his right ear and shook the device. It did not produce any sound to his ear. With his brows drawing together, Ari brought the gadget to the front of his sight.

_Draggy… Where has the character slot gone? Maybe Draggy's data had been stored inside this device?_ Ari asked in his mind.

He pressed the right arrow key and the words 'No Data' appeared on the screen.

Where had everything gone?

Ari tried hard not to be tearful. This was like a nightmare for him. The board and the chips set were a birthday prize from his parents a few months ago, when he reached twelve. Although the set was not something expensive due to choosing Draggy as a partner character, the meaning behind it was valuable. His parents chose Draggy because they knew that Ari adored this character in the game, and he had been drawing some fan arts for the little yellow dragon in his spare time.

_But I must leave this problem for now… If I were late, something bad would happen!_

Ari picked up all the scattered chips and the device before putting them into a box.

ooo

There was nobody in the school hallway, except Ari, who was running hastily. He was lucky that all he had to carry was just a box as he had left his schoolbag inside the classroom since the morning class. However, he just could not eliminate the negative thoughts in his mind.

_"Late again? Well, after class, write 'I will not be late again' on the whiteboard until there's no space left!"_

His teacher's words were still clear and echoing in his head. That punishment was really tiring, and it only made him sleepy even faster. Besides, the main cause of his tardiness was _oversleeping_ , and being tired would only make him worse.

_I hope that Miss Satoko is late…_

He ran fast, but his eyes were focused to the wooden planks hung beside the door of a classroom.

_6A, 6B… There it is! 6C!_

He kept his feet beating the stone floor in steady speed. He had to reach the class as fast as possible. However, he gradually lost his will to continue running as he got closer to his classroom. He decided to walk all the way to the door after successfully peeking through the windows of his class. A woman was standing in front of a scribbled whiteboard, speaking with her right hand pointing at the ceiling.

_I'm late, and now it isn't because of oversleeping… How can I explain this to Miss Satoko?_ Ari gulped whilst walking towards the wooden door of the classroom.

He raised his right hand hesitantly. He could just play truant now, but it came with a price. If he were caught, this might result in him being forbidden from joining the coming finals.

_Ugh, it would be more horrible if my parents found out that I had a problem at school and had to join the follow-up test._ Ari knocked the door gently.

The door opened, and the teacher, Miss Satoko, walked out and glared at Ari with her hands on her hips.

"I was late to this class for five minutes, and then you appear five minutes later after I arrived? Oversleeping again?" Satoko asked.

Ari bowed. "I'm sorry, Miss Satoko! I was at the canteen and no, I didn't sleep!"

"Looks like you can't be cured of this bad habit only by writing on the whiteboard. You're not only late for the morning classes now. As a punishment, you must stay outside until my class is over, understand?" Satoko said fiercely, glaring at Ari.

"Y-yes, Miss!" Ari stammered as beads of sweat trickled down his temple.

"Fine, and don't play truant unless you want to be in a bigger trouble," Satoko said aloud as she turned around and walked into the class.

When the door was shut, Ari slumped to the ground. _What a bad day… First I lost everything in my battle board set, and then I was late and had to stay outside as a punishment._

Sitting on the floor and resting his back against the wall, he opened the lid of the box and picked up the gadget that appeared earlier. _I've lost everything…_

He then examined the device closer. _What's this plug…? This looks like a plug for a USB drive._

He rethought the moment he found the words 'No Data' on the monitor. _USB drive… Data… Is it possible to insert some data into this device? If so, then I can have Draggy back!_

He put the device back into the box and covered it with the lid. He placed the case beside him and then pulled a scratchpad, a pencil, a small pack of color pencils, and an eraser from the pockets on his breeches. _I was lucky that I always brought these stuffs with me. Now, if I'm correct, I can just have a brand new Draggy. He needs some modifications…_

Ari began drawing on his scratchpad.

_First thing first, Draggy needs to be bigger… Maybe it'll be good if he's about as tall as me… Well, I think if he is standing on two feet just like humans, it'll be cool! Weight? Ah, of course at least as heavy as he is in the game! Two hundred pounds or something like that!_

Forty minutes later, Ari had completed the sketch of the modified Draggy. The winged dragon was standing on two legs, which had three jagged claws protruding from each of the feet. Instead of small arms like in the game, the dragon now had a pair of arms with three sharp claws jutting from each of the hands. His body remained the same with the original: yellow body with blue stripes. Also, the wing-like extensions on his head were still there.

_Once I'm home, I'll scan and save this picture into the gadget… Eh, but maybe the gadget doesn't retain his statistics, so I'll just write it down as well._ Ari turned the page of his scratchpad and began writing. _Well, this Draggy will be stronger than the original, but not too overpowering. Maybe it needs more physical strength and defense… No, I think it will just need more magic-_

Creak.

A yell of a woman followed the sound. "What are you doing? Why don't you at least ask for permission to get your textbook and read it while waiting until the class is over?"

Ari gasped, dropping his scratchpad and stationery in a moment of shock. After picking up the things he dropped, he stood up and turned to Satoko, who was standing by the door. "B-b-but I d-didn't know…"

"I don't think that telling you to wait outside is a fitting punishment for you, so do one thing for me: write an essay about attitude. You must submit it on Saturday, understand?" Satoko said.

"Y-yes, miss," Ari answered.

"Stay here for ten minutes again. Now you can at least plan what you'll be writing for the essay," Satoko said calmly before turning around and walking into the classroom.

As the door was shut, Ari sat on the floor and began writing on his scratchpad. However, he was far more interested in completing his modification of Draggy than doing his essay. _Fine, Draggy now has less speed and skill, but more physical power and defense… The magic defense is a bit stronger than the original. Now, into the tech!_

Ari turned the page of his scratchpad and sat still, rubbing his pencil against his chin. _Cough Drop? Well, this is the original name, but it sounds strange…like a medicine. Fireball? Too generic. Fire Breath? Yet another generic name._

In his mind, he imagined the anthropomorphic Draggy he drew jumping into the air. Raising his head and opening his mouth, the dragon inhaled the air around him. He then lowered his head a bit and released an arrow of flame, which was shaped like a dragon.

"Dragon Flame! That's a good name!" Ari said, but he immediately covered his mouth with his scratchpad. He was afraid that his teacher would suddenly come out again, but fortunately, she did not.

A few minutes later, Ari heard a loud noise of a horn. _That noise again… But it's time to go home!_ He kept the scratchpad and stationery inside the pocket on his trousers. After picking up the box where he kept the gadget and element chips, he got up. At the same time too, the students were pouring out of the classroom like water.

Soon, Satoko walked out of the classroom and said to Ari, "Don't forget the essay!" She then walked away.

"Yes, miss!" Ari grinned.

As he entered the classroom, a short girl was standing still. She was in a yellow dress and her shoulder-length black hair was tied in a ponytail.

"Yukari? Why haven't you left the room like the others?" Ari asked.

"Because I have something to tell you," Yukari replied, walking closer to him. As she was about to walk past Ari, she whispered, "I know what you've been doing during the punishment. You're drawing a dragon, right? I can see you easily because I'm sitting right beside the window."

Ari gasped. He thought that nobody would know about what he doing, but it appeared that Yukari knew too much.

"Promise me that you won't be telling anybody about this!" Ari said.

"It's a promise! Anyway, you must do well in your essay and stop imagining things unless you wanna be in a trouble. Bye!" Yukari then walked out of the classroom.

_She's right. Sometimes I just fantasize too much…_ Ari said to himself, before walking to where his schoolbag was.

ooo

Today was not quite a good day for Toshio Yamamoto. For the entire day, he sat still at the checkout counter, hoping for more customers. However, the customers today were very few, and it was possible to count them with all the fingers in both of Toshio's hands. Sitting still, he wondered if he could get more money. Perhaps being a businessman would be good, but no, he was only fitting to be a shopkeeper. Toshio was just a man who graduated from Shinjuku High, and he never had the interest to study more. Besides, it was not easy to get a job at Shinjuku.

Toshio's wife, Michiko Yamamoto, once studied economy. She worked as a businesswoman at Shinjuku, but not anymore as the company she worked for had gone into liquidation many years ago. However, she was content as a housewife. What would be better than being able to live rather fully with light work such as helping Toshio? Besides, she had a child named Ari... Yes, just one son five years after marrying Toshio.

Suddenly, the glass door was open. Toshio stood up, thinking that it was a customer. However, it was Ari who walked in.

"Welcome home, Ari!" Toshio said.

Michiko then followed. "Welcome back! How's school?"

"Dad, Mom, I have some works to do," Ari answered rapidly.

"Homework? Well, you're going to be in secondary soon, right? School will always be busy, but you can do it!" Michiko said.

"I know, but I'm going to do my homework now!" Ari said as he stormed towards the staircase.

"Uh, what's with all that energy? This is the first time I hear that Ari really wants to finish his homework quickly…" Toshio said, his head tilting to the side.

"Maybe he wants to be a top student in the class? Who knows?" Michiko replied calmly, her right palm facing the ceiling.

ooo

Ari pushed a set of small switches on the wall beside the wooden door.

Click.

The Teflon-coated lamps on the ceiling flickered for a moment, but they were then permanently on, emitting white radiance that brightened the room. Ari then threw his schoolbag away to his bed and immediately took out the scratchpad from the pocket in his trousers.

_I'm curious!_

Ari walked towards the fiberglass desk and chair at the northeastern corner of the room, where there were a computer set and a scanner. He placed the scratchpad on the table, and then pushed the buttons on the CPU and scanner, activating all the electronic devices.

Knowing that it took a few minutes for the computer to function well, Ari walked towards his bed and opened the zipper on his schoolbag. He took out the box where he kept the gadget and all his element chips.

Picking up the red 'remote control' from the box, Ari smiled. On one side, he thought that this gadget would enable him to have Draggy as his virtual pet. On the other hand, he was wondering if this device would bring Draggy to life, which he had been dreaming of. Of course, getting a friend, or perhaps a pet to play with, would be fun for someone who was the only child in the family.

When Ari walked back to the desk, the monitor was on. Apparently, the CPU itself contained plenty of data. Even the main screen was almost full of folders and other applications, but Ari had never thought of removing them. He was too lazy to remove the useless data, but aside from that reason, he also believed that sometimes they could be useful again one day.

After plugging the gadget into the CPU, Ari opened the lid of his scanner and placed the scratchpad in it, before closing the lid. He then grabbed the mouse. Looking at the monitor, he moved the mouse slowly, resulting in the pointer moving towards the scanner application on the screen.

_At last!_ Ari clicked the 'Scan' button on the pop-up window. After that, there was a noise that sounded like iron scraping against each other. As he waited for the scanner to finish its job, he imagined himself throwing a wooden stick away and let Draggy run to catch it. _If this Draggy were real then… But it's okay if he's just a virtual pet._

Thirty seconds later, the noise stopped. Ari then opened the lid of the scanner, turned the page of the scratchpad, and put it down. _I could just type the statistic into the Notepad program, but… Ah, I'm just trying to be quick!_

After closing the lid of the scanner, Ari clicked the 'Scan' button and waited again. After another thirty seconds, the scanning was complete.

_Yes! Now it's the time!_

Smiling, Ari clicked the 'Save' button on the screen and saved the scanned image into the gadget. As he watched the image of some papers flying from a folder to another folder on the pop-up window on the screen, he wondered about what would happen next. Would he receive Draggy as a virtual pet? Or would Draggy really come alive, just like what he had been dreaming of?

The pop-up window disappeared, and another pop-up appeared with a red circle and a white cross on its left side.

"Not enough space? How come?" Ari wondered out loud.

Quickly, Ari clicked 'My Computer' and clicked the 'Removable Disk', before clicking on the 'Properties' on the pop-up window that appeared. His mouth was ajar when he saw what was on the screen. The gadget was unable to hold the files with over a megabyte size.

"No… Why could the gadget only hold 512 kilobytes?" At the same time, Ari felt that his dream was all gone.

He reclined against the back rest of the chair with a wilting posture. First, he lost his board set. Second, he was late to class and had to write an essay. Third, his gadget could not fit in all the images he tried to save. Today had been a bad hair day for Ari.

_It's all useless…_

He stared blankly at the ceiling. In his mind, he wondered how happy he would be if he had a little dragon in his house. After all, he only wished to have someone who would accompany him, just like a brother, sister, or to a lesser extent, a pet.

Suddenly, Ari let out a heave. _It's something childish to think about! I'll just take a nap and forget about everything!_

Soon, he closed his eyes and fell asleep...and dreamed.

ooo

_Black clouds filled the sky as rumbling sounds were audible. Suddenly, blindingly white jags streaked across the dark sky, bringing with them a loud bang. At the same time, inside Yamamoto shop house, Ari snapped open his eyes in a moment of shock. Yawning, Ari got up and walked towards the window._

_"It's going to rain…" he said silently, looking through the window._

_With an expressionless look on his face, he looked down. The rubbish on the street of Shinjuku Residential Area, especially papers and plastic bags, were flying around as the wind blew. Ari did not see anybody walking on the pavement._

_"Hmph, nothing interesting. I'll just go back to sleep or perhaps do my-" Before Ari could complete his sentence, mist engulfed the window. "What the heck?"_

_Curious, Ari flung the window open and stretched his neck to see what was happening. Apparently, it was just an averagely thin layer of fog; Ari was able to see what was on the street. To his surprise, there was a girl standing. She was an averagely tall girl in grey t-shirt and jeans. Her black hair was short; about shoulder-length._

_"What is a girl doing at this moment?" Ari wondered out loud._

_He kept looking at the girl, who was still standing. Even after a minute, she had not budged even a bit._

_Feeling weary on his neck, Ari decided to back off. For him, there was nothing interesting about the girl and the mist._

_As he was about to close the window, he suddenly heard a girl's voice saying: "So, it's Mama Dingo… Hmph, you're nothing but some data that will strengthen Guile."_

_Mama Dingo…? Guile…? Those names were familiar. No, they were extremely familiar. Mama Dingo was a monster from Chrono Cross, while Guile was a character from the game._

_"They're in the real world? I have to see them!" Ari said, smiling widely as he stretched his neck again._

_Looking down, Ari saw the girl taking out a dark blue device from the pocket on her jeans. The device was about the size of a remote control, with a monitor, arrow keys, and a long slim slot._

_Eyes widened, Ari said, "That looks like mine except the color!"_

_"Guile! Finish her off!" the girl commanded fiercely._

_As those words left the girl's lips, a silhouette of a long-haired man leapt from the mist. Charging at lightning speed, it rammed and knocked Mama Dingo away. The shadow stopped, revealing a masked man whose long lavender braid was fluttering by the breeze._

ooo


	2. Reality

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Apparently, a video game character appearing in the real world was not a dream at all.

_"That is… That is really Guile!" Ari said, further stretching his neck to get a better sight of Guile._

_At the same time, Mama Dingo got up and roared. Jets of fire surrounded her, igniting her entire body. She then jumped and rolled, turning herself into a huge fireball._

_"That's not a good tactic," the girl said, taking out a blue element chip from a pocket on her jeans._

_"What is she doing? Using element or such?" Ari questioned._

_The girl brought the element chip into the long slim slot and swiped it along the line. "Element Swipe! Nimble!"_

_Blue light engulfed Guile. As the big fireball approached, he leapt into the air, dodging Mama Dingo's attempt to harm him._

_Seeing the fireball stopping and reverting into Mama Dingo, the girl shouted, "Now!"_

_Airborne, Guile pulled out a staff from his left sleeve. He closed his eyes and kept silent._

_"Huh? What is he doing?" Ari asked, his head tilting to the side. "I thought someone had to chant when casting spells."_

_Black clouds packed the sky above Guile. Suddenly, purple jags streaked across the clouds, bringing about a loud bang. The lightning zapped and charged Guile's staff with electric current._

_"Lightning Rod!" Opening his eyes, Guile swung his staff and unleashed a stream of thunder bolt from it._

_The lightning struck Mama Dingo. She howled in pain as an explosion of purple electric current engulfed her. Slowly, her tail, body, and head disintegrated into shimmering molecules._

_Guile looked at the molecules and glided towards them. Like magnet with opposite poles, the sparkling particles also flew towards Guile and entered his body._

_"Yes, grow stronger, Guile. We cannot lose," the girl said somberly._

_Looking at the girl's expressionless face, Ari scratched his head. Guile won, but why the girl seemed to be grim? Silently, Ari muttered, "What a weirdo…"_

_"Nothing is left here." The girl turned away as the mist dissipated slowly. "Let us leave this place."_

_Guile landed on the floor quite softly with both of his feet. The girl had begun walking away, but Guile had not. Instead, he stood still and remained on guard, looking to the left and right._

_With a bead of sweat trickling down his temple, Ari gulped. "D-did he know that I had been w-watching the battle?" Slowly, he began retracting his neck._

_Ari knew that Guile was kind and gentle, but he believed that his 'spying' act might just tick off the masked magician. The wrath of a silent person was always more dangerous than the noisier ones, and Ari would rather avoid that._

_Stepping backwards in fear, Ari slipped and fell flat on his back._

ooo

"Huh?"

At this moment, Ari felt like he was lying on something hard and bumpy. He opened his eyes. What he could see now were several Teflon-coated lamps shining brightly on the ceiling. Looking around, he found out that he had been sleeping so soundly that he and the wooden chair had tumbled altogether. In short, everything earlier was…

_Just a dream…_ Ari got up, rubbing his back. His eyes were still half open, but soon, they were wide open when he smelled something burning. He looked around to find some threads of smoke were coming out from his CPU and the gadget.

"What the hell! It's burning!" Ari crouched, pulling out the gadget from the CPU in a flash.

The smoke disappeared. Ari looked at the monitor of the gadget, and he saw an egg on the screen. The egg was fairly big, with several green spots on it.

"This is Draggy's egg, just like in the game!" Ari shouted in excitement.

Before Ari could do a thing, he suddenly heard a woman's voice calling, "Ari! Dinner's ready!"

"Oh, well… But this is awesome," Ari said, smiling.

ooo

The sky had gone dark blue, with sparkling white freckles scattered across it. A pale white disk was also there, shining brightly whilst sending a beam of light to Shinjuku.

The sidewalk of Shinjuku Residential Area was not as crowded as usual. Most people of course, preferred staying at home or riding a vehicle to walking because there were puddles on the asphalt floor. However, for Yoshino Kobayashi, it was fine as long as she could be alone. She was strolling along the pavement, her hands inside the pockets of her jeans. Her face remained blank and sullen, as if she were unsatisfied of something.

_Hmph, I'm hoping that there will be more unusual creatures appearing, so that Guile can grow stronger and I can be an invincible battle board player…_

Yoshino continued walking, ignoring everything around her. However, she could not ignore the few boys and girls who suddenly stopped and looked at her. Yoshino halted as well, but her face remained as expressionless as usual.

"Hey, this is the famous psychic girl, isn't it?" one of the boys asked.

"She is! Wow, her predicting skill is excellent!" another boy answered.

"No wonder why she is the champion of the 2020 Battle Board Tournament!" one of the girls continued.

"Oh, I wanna be like her!" another girl said.

Yoshino let out an exasperated sigh. _You cannot and may not be like me, you moron!_ For her, the last tournament was not much a challenge. She defeated all her foes easily only with Guile board set. But her strategy varied, depending on what her opponents were going to do.

"Find the way by yourselves!" Yoshino yelled, resuming her walk.

She did not care what those people were going to say about her. For sure, she had been oddly, kind enough to leave a wise message for them; searching was actually something that made her successful in the game. She had been browsing the Internet for some good strategies, but those were not only for her to use against her foes. Truth be told, she also learned much from those and they were what she used for building her own flexible strategy. In short, her strategy was more of _anticipation_ than anything else.

_But still...people will soon know my strategies and defeat me if I don't think of something new..._

ooo

It was dinnertime. Sitting at a round table, the Yamamoto family ate their dinner together. For tonight, the menu was fried salmon fillet and miso soup. Usually, Ari might eat more than usual whenever Michiko cooked this, but today…

_Strange… I thought that my dream was very real… Now, I also have the device that looks like that girl's one…_ Ari wondered with chin in hands, his eyes staring blankly at the ceiling.

"Ari? What's the matter? Your soup will get cold!" Michiko said.

His mom's voice snapped Ari back to his senses. However, he still found it hard to get out from those thoughts.

Looking at Michiko, Ari spoke softly, "Mom, I'm just wondering…"

"What is it, dear?" Michiko asked.

"I know it's strange, but can a character from a video game appear in the real world? I thought I was dreaming about that earlier today," Ari answered.

Michiko chuckled. "Of course not! It's just a dream, and dream isn't real!"

"If it's true then, I wanna dream about the shop having lots of customers! Or better, I wanna dream of becoming the richest man in this world!" Toshio said jokingly.

"I guess…" Ari replied, hesitation accompanied his voice.

He turned his attention to the bowl of miso soup in front of him. As he took a spoonful of the clear liquid, he wondered what if Draggy would come alive, just like Guile in his dream. He would be very happy to have a friend to play with.

Ari could not finish the soup. Silently, he got up and turned around.

"Huh? You're strange today…" Toshio said.

Ari gulped. Yes, he was indeed, weird. In a day, he had experienced a lot of strange things. His parents did not know anything, but Ari would rather keep everything secret.

"Nothing. Just wanna continue my work," Ari said.

He turned left towards a wooden door. He was walking, but like a zombie because his mind was floating. He could not stop thinking about Draggy.

As he opened the door and entered the room, he saw something glowing on the desk. Quickly, he ran towards the light. Apparently, it was…

_The gadget!_ He picked it up, and the light slowly faded. Ari's eyes widened as he looked at the monitor. Remnants of an eggshell were scattered throughout the screen.

"It hatched…?" Ari wondered out loud. "Draggy is born?"

ooo

The wall of the dim room was dark blue, just like the night sky. Consisting of countless squares, the wall was letting out beeps as a woman was typing on a keyboard whilst sitting at her desk.

Standing beside the desk was a blond man in a black trench coat, whose eyes were concealed behind a pair of dark glasses. He was leaning against the wall, his hands inside the pockets of his black trousers. Chisiki Takashi was his name. Standing still, he pondered what he should do now. He disliked the fact that the characters from a video game were appearing, as he believed that they would wreak havoc in the real world.

Suddenly, there was a loud beep.

The long-haired woman said, "Foreign Being detected, Mr. Chisiki."

Chisiki turned his attention to the woman, his face remained stern. "Launch a tracer, Ami."

Ami nodded and typed on the keyboard rapidly, yielding a cacophony of clicking sounds. Soon, amidst the square-filled wall, a small red circle appeared. At first, the circle was as small as the clench of a fist, but soon, it expanded into the size of a human skull.

"The Foreign Being is emerging at Shinjuku Residential Area," Ami reported.

_Another Foreign Being again... This is perhaps the tenth artificial life form detected in the real world!_ Chisiki let out a humph. _Scums of the other world, I swear that I'll destroy all of you before you can destroy us!_

ooo

At the same time, a red arrow appeared on the center of the gadget's monitor. Like a compass, the arrow spun quickly, and lastly stopped on a direction.

_It tells me to go south… What does this mean?_ Ari questioned in his mind. However, he began recalling his dream. _Guile was real in my dream, so maybe Draggy is real… I'll go check it out._

Ari put the gadget inside the pocket on his breeches. He then walked out of his bedroom. As he headed towards the staircase, he saw Michiko was going up.

"Ari? What are you doing?" Michiko asked.

"Um, I'm thinking of getting some fresh air outside… I need some ideas for my essay," Ari answered.

It was a lie, but somehow Michiko did not seem to be suspecting anything.

Smiling, Michiko told Ari, "Just don't get home late!"

"Yeah!" Ari then walked down the staircase.

Downstairs, he ran past the shelves of goods. Despite knowing what would happen if Draggy were really alive, he believed that he could try to teach Draggy some manners, and his parents would one day accept him to be in the household.

Outside the Yamamoto shop, Ari took out the gadget and looked at the monitor, where there was a red arrow pointing to his left side. _To the west…_

Ari turned left and walked towards the alleyway between his house and a three-storey building. It was dark with trashcans and a few empty cardboards standing along the path. There was also a street lamp towering, somewhat brightening the alley.

_One wrong step and I may end up making a mess._ However, Ari's curiosity trumped his negative thoughts. He proceeded to the alley. Carefully, he walked past the line of trashcans. All of a sudden, there was a beep.

Ari looked at the monitor on his gadget, where there was a red X on the screen. "What does this mean? Draggy is around here?"

Looking around, he could not find any clue of Draggy's whereabouts. There were only trashcans and piles of rubbish. He looked up, but there were only stars on the dark blue sky. He looked down, but there was only a metallic panel with a disk on it.

_Maybe he's in the culverts._ Ari hunched and pulled up the disk, before going down the manhole.

Inside, it was just as dark. The only lightings there were a few dim, yellowish wall lamps. It was also silent, save for the sound of dripping water and squeaking rats.

Looking at the monitor on the gadget, Ari gasped. The red X had gone; an arrow pointing to the east appeared instead. "Huh? I guess I'll follow the arrows." Ari followed the directions pointed by the gadget. He obediently followed, until he arrived at a place where it was very short and narrow.

"I have to crawl. Looks like I'll get dirty," Ari said as he kept the gadget in his pocket.

He crumpled and slowly, he crept into the narrow path and crawled all the way. Grimy water and slimes from the wall managed to cling on his arms. Despite the itch caused by the filth, Ari continued to crawl. He would do anything to find out whether Draggy had appeared in the real world or just his imagination.

Minutes later, he managed to get out of the narrow path. He stood up and inhaled deeply, although he felt heavy on his stomach. He smelled awful, just like some organic rubbish. Looking ahead, there was a fog bank.

"Fog? Just like in my dream when I saw Guile and the Mama Dingo… Was it a sign?" Ari walked towards the mist. Slowly, a shadowy figure of a winged dragon became vivid. "Draggy…?"

When he was there, he could not see anything other than pure white. He continued walking despite the hazy vision, and only in a few seconds, he finally could see everything clearly. There was a yellow dragon, sitting on the floor with eyes closed. He was fairly tall even when he was sitting; about as big as a human child.

"Draggy!" Ari called, running towards the dragon. This was indeed, Ari's wish, although the dragon was not like what he hoped. This Draggy only retained the size and bipedal posture that Ari once wanted; other than that, there was no difference.

The dragon opened his eyes, his wing-like ears fluttering. He looked at Ari and growled, but his face did not look threatening. However, he then sniffed the air and turned his attention to the running rats in front of him.

"Cough Drop!" Rearing back its head, Draggy inhaled as sparks of flame gathered between his jaws.

Seeing this, Ari stopped. "What are you doing? They're just rats!"

Draggy bent ahead and launched a fireball from his mouth.

The burning sphere collided with the rats and exploded. Thick smoke appeared from the scorched spot, obscuring Ari's sight. At the same time, Ari tumbled back and sat on the floor. He was about to get up, but then, he saw a shadow of a dragon that was about his height walking towards him. It was Draggy, who then crouched.

"Draggy! I'm y-y-your…no, I w-was the o-one who w-wanted…uh, wished you to a-appear in the real world!" Ari stuttered, his entire body trembling.

Draggy bowed and sniffed the air around Ari.

"Don't burn me!" the frightened boy shouted, propelling himself backwards with both of his hands.

"Um…?" Draggy's head tilted to the side.

Ari paused and looked at the dragon. _He did not seem to be a ferocious dragon…_

"Friend…?" Draggy asked.

"Huh?" Ari scratched his head.

Draggy pointed at Ari. "You can talk, just like Draggy… You're Draggy's friend?"

Ari grinned at Draggy's remark. Things went very well!

"You can come with me if you want. You know, I've been hoping to see you all this long!" Ari smiled. "You're just born, right? C'mon, I'll take you to my home and…let's play!"

"Play? Draggy wants to play!" Draggy wagged his tail in excitement.

Ari chuckled. "Anyway, call me Ari."

"Ari…?" Draggy blinked.

"Yes, Ari!" Ari smiled. _Good thing is, he isn't speaking with extra 'r' like in the game. Otherwise, he'll call me Arrri! Though this is strange, because I never thought of wishing him to speak without that strange accent._

"Ari! Draggy will come with Ari!" Draggy grinned, spreading his small wings.

"That's right! First, we'll get out of here…" Ari got up. "But the mist is thick."

"Draggy can light the way!" Draggy said.

"Are you sure?" Ari asked. "I think I'll let this gadget to do the job. It has something like a compass."

Ari inserted his right hand into the pocket on his breeches and took out the device. As he was about to look at the monitor, the device shone. The white light radiating from it cleared the fog bank surrounding Ari and Draggy.

"Why the device didn't shine earlier? It just made me have hard time looking through the mist!" Ari complained.

"Let's go to Ari's home?" Draggy asked, placing his left paw on his jaw.

"Oh yeah, let's!" Ari said. "But first, maybe I need to hide you so that you won't be too conspicuous when entering my house… Otherwise my parents will be very noisy."

"Draggy knows some good places to hide," Draggy said. "This place is good."

"No, it's not that you can hide somewhere outside my house. I need to hide you inside something so that my parents don't know that I'm bringing you!" Ari stroked his chin. "Maybe I can hide you inside a trashcan… No, I know! I'll just hide you inside a cardboard."

"What's that?" Draggy asked.

"It's a big box. I saw a few between the trashcans when I was heading here," Ari replied. "C'mon, follow me!"

ooo

Michiko was sitting still at the counter of Yamamoto shop, chin on hands. It was fairly late now and the shop had closed a few hours ago, but it was not customers that she wanted. Ari had gone out for almost an hour, and what she expected now was her son returning home.

"I hope that nothing happened to Ari… I'm wondering why he's so late," Michiko muttered, her sight was focused on the glass doors.

Suddenly, the glass doors opened. Ari walked in, pushing a huge cardboard along.

"Ari? What's in the box?" Michiko asked. "And you just stink."

"No, nothing! It's just a stuffed toy from an old grandma for helping her crossing the street!" Ari replied, smirking. "Uh, I stink? Well, I fell into a manhole earlier." Lying to parents was not something he liked, but he was afraid that his mom would exaggerate things when she saw the real Draggy.

Michiko chuckled. "A big stuffed toy? Hey, I thought that you didn't like that thing!"

"I just couldn't refuse a grandma's offer!"

"Good boy!"

"Yeah."

Ari continued to push the cardboard ahead, but suddenly, there was a voice coming from the box.

"Ari, how long must Draggy stay inside here?"

"It talks! That must be a very special doll!" Michiko exclaimed, getting up. "Also, it says 'Draggy'!"

Ari gasped whilst grasping the box firmly. "Just some sort of ventriloquism!"

"C'mon, let me see it!" Michiko walked towards Ari and the cardboard.

Ari gulped and spoke rapidly, "Draggy, run quickly for Ari please!"

A child-like voice appeared from the box. "Draggy runs!"

Like a train, Ari managed to push the cardboard away quickly.

"Ari has been acting weird today," Michiko muttered, scratching her head. "Or maybe I woke up at the wrong side of my bed."

ooo

Toshio was sitting still at a table, reading a newspaper. Noise was non-existent in the dining room, and this was what that Toshio wanted. He could now read business articles nicely…

Thud!

Toshio closed and put the newspaper on the table. Looking towards the staircase, he saw Ari panting with a box beside him.

"Ari, what's that?" Toshio asked. "And you just smell like rubbish."

"Just a stuffed toy!" Ari said as he continued pushing the cardboard towards a wooden door. "Oh, I also fell into a hole earlier, but nothing's broken."

Toshio got up and walked towards Ari and the box. "Can I see what is inside the cardboard?"

Ari did not answer.

Toshio chuckled. "C'mon, there's nothing wrong if you admit that you like such thing, right?"

"Um, I just need to finish my essay now!" Ari replied as he opened the wooden door. Pushing the cardboard into the room, he said, "Maybe tomorrow!"

He then slammed the door shut swiftly after entering the room.

At the same time, there were noises of sandals beating the wooden floor and a woman calling: "Ari!"

"Michiko?" Toshio asked, walking towards the staircase.

Michiko stopped in one of the steps and said, "Ari is acting strange!"

Toshio scratched his head. "Yeah, I think so. What's with that cardboard and stuffed toy?"

"I thought I heard something speaking inside the cardboard! It also mentioned 'Draggy', Ari's favorite character in a video game!" Michiko told Toshio, her face full of confusion.

"Hmm, I think I remember Ari asking about something related to video game character appearing in real world…" Toshio replied calmly.

"You suspect that Draggy really comes alive and Ari is bringing him here?" Michiko asked.

"But Draggy… I knew that he spoke like this: Drrraggy is rrreally hungrrry!" Toshio spoke confidently, as if he were acting on a stage. "Did the sound speak with such accent?"

Michiko giggled. "I remember now! No, it didn't, so it isn't Draggy!"

"But maybe there's nothing wrong if I check things out later," Toshio said, his face turning serious.

ooo

"That was close!" Ari said. "You can get out now, Draggy."

Draggy lifted the cardboard and threw it away to the bed. "Finally! Draggy is so tired inside the box."

"Draggy! I picked up that box from piles of rubbish!" Ari shouted, running towards his bed. "You'll make my bed dirty!"

"What's a bed?" Draggy asked.

"Uh, a thing that we can sleep on," Ari answered, picking up the empty cardboard and placing it on the floor. _Man, this boy is truly a newborn!_ For Ari, keeping Draggy with him would be a challenge. Ari himself had never even had any experience with pets or young children.

"Can Draggy sleep there?" Draggy questioned.

_Maybe I have to keep him happy...but with some restrictions!_ Ari then answered, "Of course, but don't burn anything! Now I'm gonna take a bath…then I need to finish my homework… The deadline is Saturday because tomorrow we have sports, so we won't be entering classes."

"Homework? What's that?" Draggy questioned, his head tilting to the side.

Ari chuckled. "Er, well, because you don't know about school, maybe you won't understand it yet!"

"School?" Draggy asked again.

_So curious for so young..._ Ari smiled."School is where I learn to know many things."

"Can Draggy go there? Draggy wants to learn new things too!"

"Uh, I'll think about it."

Suddenly, Ari heard several knocks on the door.

Ari whispered to Draggy, "Draggy, this must be my parents! Go hide somewhere! Maybe under the bed?"

"In that hole?" Draggy asked, pointing at the bed.

"Yes, and don't make noise!" Ari said.

Draggy nodded and walked towards Ari's bed and crawled into the hole below it.

There were several knocks again. Calmly, Ari replied, "Come in."

The wooden door was open, and Toshio walked in.

"Huh? Where's that stuffed toy?" Toshio asked.

"I decided to get rid of it. It's a creepy thing, so I just threw it out of the window!" Ari answered rapidly. _Was this a good lie anyway? I sounded like a jerk._

"I see… A talking doll is scary, isn't it? But throwing it out of the window just seems to be...too mean for me," Toshio smiled before turning around. "Night!"

Seeing his father walking out of the bedroom and closing the door, Ari let out sigh of relief. _It's not an easy job to keep a dragon in a house…_ "Draggy, stay in there until I return, okay?"

A child-like voice emerged from beneath the bed. "Can Draggy sleep now? Draggy is tired."

"Of course! Night then!" Ari answered, smiling. _Good. So now I can take a bath and work on my essay._

He turned around and opened the door silently. As he walked out of the room, he saw Michiko was about to go down the staircase.

"Mom, why are you going down to the shop?" Ari asked.

"Oh, it's you, Ari!" Michiko replied. "I'm just thinking of taking a loaf of bread and butter from the shop below so that I can make chicken sandwiches for your breakfast and lunch tomorrow."

"I love that! I want five sandwiches for tomorrow!" Ari said. Obviously, he was trying to find a way to give Draggy some food.

"Huh? That's so unusual of you! I thought you could only have at most two for lunch," Michiko said, her head tilting to the side.

"Oh, well, tomorrow we do sports for almost the entire morning, so I may be more hungry than usual," Ari replied. _Yet another lie for today…_

"Okay, fine. I'll do it," Michiko said as she went down the staircase.

ooo

It was now Friday at Shinjuku. The sun had risen on the east and brightened the entire city. Its yellowish white light passed through the window of Ari's room.

Draggy opened his eyes. Silently, he crawled out of the hole and stood up. Looking through the window, he shouted, "It's morning! Ari! It's morning!"

No answer. Draggy turned around only to find out that Ari was sleeping, his saliva trickling down his gaping mouth.

Walking towards the bed, Draggy said aloud, "Ari wakes up! Let's play!"

No response.

_But it's morning…and Draggy has slept enough…_ The dragon suddenly grabbed Ari's legs and dragged him down the bed. At the same time, Ari snapped open his eyes in shock as his head hit the wooden floor.

"Draggy! What are you doing? It's still very early!" Ari yelled.

"Play…?" Draggy asked, releasing Ari's legs.

"But I must go to school." He paused. "Well, I guess it's good that you've woken me up pretty early, so that I won't be late!" Ari said, getting up. "Now, can you stay under the bed again until I return? I must take a bath now."

"Draggy will do!" Draggy exclaimed as he crawled into the hole below Ari's bed.

ooo


	3. The Only One?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It is revealed that Draggy is not the only game character who emerges in the real world.

Ari was now on red t-shirt and white shorts, which were his sport uniform in Shinjuku Elementary. He was crouching whilst cutting a small rectangular hole on the dirty cardboard with a small penknife.

Standing beside Ari, Draggy blinked. "What is Ari doing?"

"Just making a hole here, so that you can see everything when walking," Ari replied. "I've decided to bring you to school."

"School? Draggy goes to school!" Draggy shouted happily, his wing-like ears fluttering.

_Hopefully I'm making the right decision, or I'll be in a trouble._ Ari stood up and put the knife on the computer desk. "Draggy, now hide inside this box like yesterday."

"Draggy will do," Draggy uttered, walking towards the cardboard.

Ari lifted the box and covered the dragon with it. "Can you see anything?"

"Draggy sees many things."

"Good. Let's go to school now!" Ari said, taking his unzipped grey backpack from the wooden chair of the desk.

After wearing the backpack, Ari pushed the cardboard towards the wooden door of his room. "Don't do anything other than walking for now."

He opened the door and pushed the box out of the room. As he closed the door, he whispered, "Stay there and keep quiet." He then ran towards the dining table, where a red lunch box was.

Ari picked up the lunch box. _Hopefully Mom made at least five sandwiches._ Opening the lid, he saw that there were three sandwiches. _I guess I'll have to eat at the canteen after the sport lesson._ After closing the lid of the lunch box, he put it inside his backpack and zipped the bag.

Turning to the cardboard, Ari called out, "Let's go! I don't wanna be late!"

ooo

Toshio was sitting at the counter, packing a few loaves of bread into a plastic bag before giving the bag to the female customer in front of him.

Smiling, he said, "Thank you. Come again!"

The customer nodded and walked out of the shop with the plastic bag.

_Not bad… This is the fifth customer since the shop is open!_ Toshio chuckled. He wished to have more clients than this, but it was fine, given that he opened the shop about an hour ago. For him, something was better than nothing, and his mind drifted momentarily. He imagined himself wearing a black tuxedo and a top hat, smoking while holding a huge bag of money in his left hand. _Maybe one day I'll be filthy rich!_

All of a sudden, a thud came from Toshio's right side, snapping him back to his senses. Turning towards the source of the sound, he saw Ari pushing a grimy cardboard with a rectangular hole on its front side.

"Ari? You haven't thrown away that box too?" Toshio asked. "And what's with that hole?"

"I'll be throwing it away on my way to school. It's still quite early," Ari answered while pushing the cardboard.

_Something smells fishy… Is he pretending not to know about the hole? Or maybe he's hiding something?_ Toshio thought, stroking his chin. _I'll have to check about it later._

ooo

Although the hole was small, Draggy could see buildings of all heights looming further in front of him. Also, there were many people standing before a few traffic lights not so far from his current sight.

_So many houses… Draggy wants to know how they look like!_ "Ari, can Draggy get out now?"

"Just stay inside the box. We may be in a trouble if people at school see you," Ari replied. His voice grew calmer, but now it sounded satirical. "At least, a walking box is not as strange as a dragon."

Draggy continue walking. Thanks to the hole that Ari created a while back, he was able to walk past a few blocks of buildings without bumping against the lamp posts.

Soon, as he got closer to the crowded junction, he heard Ari saying: "Stop! It's red light! Wait for a moment."

Draggy halted and asked, "Why wait?"

"It's a rule," Ari replied.

"Rule? Draggy doesn't know any rules."

"Rules are what you must obey and there will be punishments for the ones who disobey them. For example, if you try to cross the streets when the light is red, something scary will happen! Oh, yeah, what I tell you to do are also rules, and you have to obey me!"

"If Draggy doesn't, something scary will happen?"

Ari chuckled. "Yes. I'll be very angry, and that's something scary!"

Ding!

The red light went off; the green light was on.

"Now, walk," Ari said.

Draggy walked to the other side of the street, where he could now see iron fences in front of him.

"This is my school," Ari said. "Now, turn left and then right…and you're there."

Draggy turned left and walked until he spotted an opening on his right side. He then turned and entered the school.

"Now, follow my direction. Turn right and then left, and walk ahead until I say 'stop'," Ari whispered. "Eh, and remember to keep quiet."

Draggy followed Ari's instructions. He turned right, walked a few steps, and then turned left. He walked ahead until what on his sight was a stone wall.

_Things look darker here… Draggy can't walk past this wall, but Ari told Draggy to keep quiet…_

"Stop!" Ari's voice came from behind Draggy.

Draggy stopped walking.

"Now, you can get out, but keep that box with you." Ari continued, with a voice that was as soft as a mouse. "If other people see you, stay inside!"

Draggy lifted the cardboard and put it down beside him. Turning around, he saw Ari holding a lidless lunch box.

"Well, I bring some food today." Ari took out three sandwiches from the lunch box and handed them to Draggy.

Draggy grabs the sandwiches. "Food? Something that Draggy can eat?"

Ari smiled. "Of course. You must be hungry, right?"

Draggy stacked the sandwiches and took a big bite. Chewing what he had chomped, he felt the saltiness and sweetness of the chicken, butter, and bread. "Yummy!"

"I must leave now. So, you stay here until I come back," Ari said. "Don't try to go away because I can know where you are all the time with my gadget!" He turned around and walked away. "See ya!"

Draggy was too busy munching the sandwiches. He did not even hear what Ari had just said, nor did he know that Ari was going away. He kept chewing the food. Then he swallowed, licking his lips afterwards.

"Draggy wants more!" Draggy said, looking ahead. "Ari? Where's Ari?"

No answer. Draggy's ears wilted. "Draggy doesn't like being alone. Ari, come back!"

But still, there was no answer. Saddened, Draggy turned around and looked at the cardboard limply. _Draggy just wants to be with Ari._

Suddenly, Draggy thought of an idea. _Draggy will go find Ari!_ He picked up the cardboard and covered himself with it. However, his vision went black as he did not know that the box was the other way round. _Can't see anything… Draggy will just make a hole._ He punched and tore an opening, which enabled him to see what was outside.

Turning around, Draggy began running. He ran past the dark yard fast, and stopped when he was on a large open field. There was a stone building with many wooden doors, but Draggy simply turned away as the hallway was empty. His focus was now on the students with red t-shirts and white shorts further in front of him. They were all standing on the range, forming a line. In front of them, there was a long-haired woman with some batons in her hands.

The woman shouted, "Today you'll do a relay race, but before that, you all have to do some warming-up exercises!"

"Yes, Miss Satoko!" the students replied.

"Now, walk on the spot!"

"Yes, Miss!"

_Draggy must not be seen by anybody… Draggy will just go to this house!_ He turned around and walked towards the stone building. Stopping in front of the door, he lifted the box a bit, revealing his face a little. _How can Draggy go inside?_

Draggy covered himself with the cardboard, thinking what he should do. Sure, he still did not know many things about a door, but… _Draggy knows! Draggy saw Ari opening a door this morning!_

He stood up, lifting the box with his body. He reached out his left paw and grabbed the doorknob. _Um, Draggy thinks this thing must be pulled out…_ With full force, the dragon pulled the doorknob, sending him flying backwards a bit as well.

The metallic doorknob fell to the ground with a clang. However, the door was still there, not budging even a bit. _Maybe this door is different._ Draggy covered himself with the cardboard and turned around.

Before he could walk away, he heard a man's voice shouting: "Hey, you! What have you done to the door? Although that class is having a computer lesson, you mustn't break anything!"

Draggy turned to the source of the voice. In front of his sight, there was a bald old man standing with his arms crossed. His glasses were thick like what a nerd would wear. Wearing a black coat and trousers, he was more like a groom than an employee at school…

"Who are you?" Draggy asked.

"Don't you know who I am? I am the principal of this school, Hiroshi Hashimoto!" Hiroshi yelled. "You're supposed to call me 'sir'!"

"Sir…? Maybe sir wanna play with Draggy?" Draggy asked.

"What the heck?" Hiroshi's brow twitched. "Now I doubt that you're really a student. Take off that cardboard now!"

"Ari told Draggy not to, and that is a rule!" Draggy said confidently.

"There is no rule of ignoring what a principal says!" Hiroshi yelled even louder, walking towards the box. "If you don't take that off, I'll do it by myself!"

"Draggy will do it then," Draggy said, lifting the cardboard. He then threw it at Hiroshi, who tripped upon dodging the box. Looking at the principal falling flat on his back, he laughed and reached out his left hand. "I am Draggy. Nice to meet you."

Hiroshi's eyes widened. Pointing at Draggy, he stuttered, "A m-m-monster!"

"Monster?" Draggy asked, his head tilting to the side.

"Yes, you are…A MONSTER!" Hiroshi screamed, getting up. He turned around and ran away quickly, as if there were a tiger chasing him.

"But…" Draggy suddenly thought of how Ari would react if he found out about this. _Ari will be angry… This isn't what Draggy wants!_

What was in Draggy's mind now was escaping to hide this mistake. He turned away and spread his wings. _Draggy will hide somewhere so that nobody can see Draggy…_ With that, he jumped and flapped his wings rapidly, propelling him away from the school building.

ooo

Although the A class was often known as the best class at Shinjuku Elementary, this did not apply on 6A. Without a teacher, all the students were like having a party in the class. Most of them were chatting, while the others were screaming and running around the class. However, there were a few students that knew how to spend time wisely. One of them was Chikara Jikan, who was sitting still at his desk, reading a history textbook.

Under his desk, there was a small creature in white clothing with a ray gun tied on his back. A transparent cyan helm covered his round bald head, making his appearance more like a mini astronaut.

The creature whispered, "No teacher?"

Chikara looked down and replied, "Maybe he's absent today, Starky."

"It's really boring…" Starky wagged both of his tiny red hands. "I don't get to hear anything interesting here."

Chikara smiled. He was lucky that Starky was small, and he could just let the little alien listen to lessons without much hassle. However, he had to ignore the teasing by other students whenever he took Starky out from his bag. Bringing a 'stuffed toy' inside his bag had earned him a title 'girly boy'.

"I'll find a book-" Chikara said.

However, a loud voice of a man suddenly reverberated. "Attention please! There is a monster spotted in our school! For everyone's safety, class is disbanded!"

In a flash, all the students who were running before, returned to their seats and began packing their things. "No class! Yay!"

"This is really strange…" Chikara muttered, running his fingers through his black, messy hair.

"Hey, Chikara. Do you think that it's possible for someone like me to be here?" Starky asked. "I think I feel there's something that is just like me… It's around this building."

"Maybe," Chikara answered, closing the history textbook and putting it into his schoolbag. "But I can't say for sure."

He picked Starky up and put him inside the bag. "Let's go home!"

Starky blinked. "Uh, Chikara… Mind if you don't zip your bag too tightly? That feeling interests me."

"Fine, but it's the best if you remain silent inside. It won't be a good idea if people see you," Chikara replied, zipping his schoolbag but not until everything was entirely shut.

ooo

Ari stood amidst a group of students and teachers, who were listening to the trembling Hiroshi stuttering: "I s-see t-that yellow m-m-monster with my own eyes! It also t-t-talks!"

_A yellow monster at school? Is it Draggy?_ Ari wondered, but was cut short upon hearing the other students making fun of the principal.

"I think you need to have a break, sir!"

"Yeah, or maybe you've been watching too many fantasy movies, sir!"

"Y-you all! Why can't you even show some respect to your principal?!" Hiroshi yelled. "What I say is real!"

_This can't be wrong anymore. It must be Draggy!_ Ari turned around and walked away from the pavement of the building.

Soon, Ari decided to run instead of walking. He hated to imagine what would happen if everybody found out that Draggy had been messing around. The dragon might just end up getting imprisoned, or perhaps sent to a research. Or worse, people might call some military backups to shoot down Draggy.

_I don't want to lose Draggy… I don't want to be alone!_ Ari's eyes were growing wet as he thought that. _I'll find and hide him so that nobody knows!_

As he was running, he suddenly bumped into a boy. The impact sent them falling to the ground, flat on their backs.

A childlike voice emerged from beneath. "Chikara, you've squished me!"

Chikara immediately stood up. "Sorry… But hey, you promised to keep quiet!"

Ari's eyes widened. The voice sounded much like Draggy, but something was weird. So far the dragon only knew Ari, nobody else. Also, Draggy was too big to fit in the bag. _But this is Chikara Jikan from 6A… The best class at school… I think it'll be okay if I ask him._

Getting up, Ari asked, "Uh, I have a question."

"Go ahead," Chikara replied, smiling.

"About what is in your bag..." Ari said. "Sorry, but I just...suspect that it isn't something from our world... Er…"

Ari was unable to continue speaking. He was afraid that Chikara would not be happy if he asked that.

"I can't really tell you, but yes, you're right," Chikara replied. His smile faded, earning his face a gloomy look. "It is actually a video game character. Do you believe in me?"

Ari nodded. "You're not the only one who has a character in the real world. I also have it."

"Well, maybe it's better if we talk about this at the backyard," Chikara said, turning around. "Let's go!"

Ari eagerly followed Chikara. He believed in the boy from 6A, for he shared the same experience. Both of them were not willing to let many people know about the video game characters, while each of them had one as their friend. Together, they walked past a few trees and smaller buildings, before turning left to a dark 'alleyway'.

"Nobody will hear us here," Chikara said.

"Now, can we talk about the previous topic?" Ari asked softly.

"I'm hiding Starky in my bag."

"That little alien?" Ari asked, his brows drawing together.

Chikara put down his schoolbag. After unzipping the bag, he whispered, "It's safe here, so just come out."

Starky's head popped out of the bag. Blinking, he asked, "Um, who are you, mister in red?"

_Mister…in red?_ Ari could not help but smiling slightly. "I'm Ari Yamamoto. Just call me Ari."

Starky then jumped out of the bag, landing on the dirt floor afterwards. "I'm Starky. Nice to meet you."

"I forgot to introduce myself," Chikara said. "I'm Chikara Jikan from 6A."

Ari turned Chikara. "I'm wondering if I can find Draggy."

"So, you have Draggy… I'm not sure but… By any chance Draggy was the one who made a mess at school earlier?" Chikara asked.

"Honestly…" Ari's voice grew quieter. "…yes, it was Draggy."

"Hmm… He's also from the game…" Chikara stroked his chin. "Starky, I thought you said feeling something similar to you earlier."

Starky chuckled. "Why not? Data gives different feels."

"Data? You mean all of you are just data?" Ari asked.

"Sort of. Well, what's the matter with that?" Starky questioned, smiling.

"But…no! You all are equal to us!" Ari yelled. It was still hard for him to accept that Draggy was just a data.

"Data or not, actually, I don't really care!" Starky replied. "We may just be half data, half living creature…or something like that."

"Anyway, you want to find Draggy, right?" Chikara asked.

"Yeah," Ari said.

Chikara took out a white gadget from the pocket on his trousers. "Do you have this gadget?"

"I bring it here even!" Ari answered, putting his bag on the dirt floor before bending down to unzip it.

"Good then," Chikara said. "It actually can lead you to where Draggy is. Just like mine, it can lead to where Starky is."

_Uh, I was so panicked that I forgot what this gadget was for… I can locate Draggy with this._ Ari took out his red gadget from his schoolbag and looked at the monitor. A small red arrow moved in circles, and suddenly stopped. "It was pointing to the south. Draggy is somewhere around the field."

"Yeah, and I can help you find him," Starky said.

Ari smiled as he zipped his schoolbag, with his gadget still in his right hand. "Thanks, Starky."

"I'll be coming too," Chikara said as he also hunched to zip his schoolbag. "You lead the way, Starky, but don't let too many people see you out there!"

"I think there aren't many people around the school now," Ari said.

Starky turned around and walked away. Carrying their schoolbags, Ari and Chikara followed from behind. The three walked out of the backyard and reached the open field of Shinjuku Elementary. Fortunately, there were only a few people wandering around. Some of them were chatting, giving Ari the idea that they would pay less attention to their surroundings.

Starky did not stop walking. Although it was strange, Ari was not skeptical. If Starky were really data, he could be relied on to look for the same being. After walking for about a mile, they arrived in front of a small stone shack.

"I feel that Draggy is inside," Starky said.

_I thought Starky would be suitable for this job, but I'm not sure that Draggy is inside the shed of the school!_ Ari looked at the monitor of his gadget, where there was a red X on the center.

"What do you get from your gadget?" Chikara inquired.

"We'll check the shed," Ari replied, walking towards the wooden door of the shack. He gasped as he saw that the doorknob was missing.

"Ari?" Chikara asked.

"Draggy might have broken the doorknob. The good thing is, we can enter the shed easily," Ari said, pushing the door open. _But the bad thing is that Draggy is a vandal._

Inside, it was bright only because of the sunlight entering through the only window of the shed. Webs were on the corners of the room. Also, there were a lot of dusty wooden tables and chairs, piling up into a mountain. On top of it, there was Draggy, who was sitting limply like a dying tree.

"Draggy!" Ari called out loud, running towards the pile of furniture.

Draggy turned. Suddenly, his formerly wilting posture was replaced with an upright pose. Jumping down, he shouted, "Ari!"

Knowing how heavy Draggy was, Ari stepped back and let Draggy create a few cracks upon landing on the floor with his two legs.

"Draggy scared a man. Then, Draggy ran because Draggy was afraid that Ari would be angry," Draggy said. "But Draggy misses Ari so much when hiding."

Hugging Draggy tightly, he muttered, "Don't ever do such thing again, okay? I'm so worried about you!"

"Um, Ari…" Chikara said. "I'm sure that Draggy is smaller in the game!"

Ari looked up at Chikara. "Oh, well, it's my wish earlier."

"Strange thing…" Chikara scratched his head. "But I think you should find a good hiding place for Draggy. He's not like Starky, who's so small that he can pretend to be a doll."

Ari pushed Draggy away and got up. "Where?"

"Maybe we can find one around Shinjuku Park," Chikara replied. "I heard there's an abandoned shack around. Since it's hard to find that place, when we're there, let's split up."

"Um, but how can Draggy enter that park?" Ari asked. "Its entry fee is two hundred yen per head."

"He can either sneak in, or just tell the guard that Draggy is a kid in a costume," Chikara laughed. "But because Draggy can fly, I recommend sneaking in!"

Meanwhile, Draggy walked towards Starky. Bringing his snout close to Starky's right arm, he sniffed the little white creature.

Feeling ticklish, Starky laughed. "Hey, that tickles!"

"You smell like Draggy…" Draggy said, rearing back. "Starky is your name?"

"Yeah!"

"Wanna play?"

"Sounds fun!"

Ari's voice suddenly came from behind Draggy. "Sorry to interrupt you two. Maybe you all can play later after we find a good place for you."

Draggy turned to Ari. "Really?"

"Of course!" Ari replied.

ooo

Inside a dim room, a loud beep resounded.

"Foreign Being detected," Ami said.

Chisiki, who was standing at the corner of the room, clenched his fists and teeth. _Another one again… Damn, I will soon start a project to eliminate all of them!_ "Launch a tracer, Ami!"

Ami typed on the keyboard rapidly. After countless clicking sounds, a moderately big red circle appeared on the square-filled wall.

"The Foreign Being is emerging at Shinjuku Park," Ami reported.

_Aliens! You'll soon learn that messing up with me is a big mistake!_ With that, Chisiki silently walked away with a pouty face.

ooo

The field was green with palisades of trees towering around it. Guile was standing with arms crossed, his back leaning against a tree.

_I keep fighting for Yoshino, but does she care for me?_

For Guile, this question had yet to be answered. So far, Yoshino had never been nice to him. Tired? Losing? Yoshino would scold him and call him a wimp.

But Guile was still hoping that Yoshino was kinder than she seemed. There were some occasions that she would bring him some food…although it was a rare case.

All of a sudden, mist surrounded the area.

In response, Guile jumped into the air and looked down. Perhaps he could not see through the fog, but he could sense something. From the momentary mild vibration in his head, he knew that there was a being from his world emerging.

Amidst the mist, a small column of light shone. A pair of clawed arms gripped the soil around the portal of light. Then, a tall green figure jumped into the sky, and landed on the ground with two feet. In front of the creature, a girl stood, holding a glowing device.

_Yoshino!_ Now was not the time to confirm whether Yoshino loved him or not. A creature from the other world would kill an unarmed human easily, and Guile would hate to see it happening to Yoshino. He wanted to know whether Yoshino cared for him or not, and without the girl, he would never know about it. Instinctively, Guile swooped down and rammed the creature, knocking it down. He then landed in front of Yoshino.

"You're just on time, Guile. Finish off this Snibgoblin and take his data!" Yoshino said, her face not showing any signs of fear.

For Guile, it was weird to see such a daring girl. Yoshino did not tremble even a bit, despite knowing that Snibgoblin might kill her easily.

"Yoshino, you should find a safe place to stand," Guile said.

Without answering, Yoshino ran towards a tree not so far from her current position.

A loud roar echoed. Guile turned, watching Snibgoblin getting up. With its right clawed arm at front, Snibgoblin charged.

Guile jumped aside, dodging everything but a sharp nail. It grazed his right arm, leaving a small cut. _Such light injury is not an obstacle for me. It should be gone only in a few minutes._ Turning, he saw Snibgoblin braked and turned, ready to strike again.

Standing still, Guile watched Snibgoblin rushing with its right arm pulled back. The creature was getting closer and closer to him, but he remained on his position like a statue.

Sharp claws came, but Guile leapt into the air and dodged them entirely. When Snibgoblin turned to him, Guile looked at Yoshino, who was standing beside a tall tree.

"Yoshino, use Strengthen!" Guile called out.

Yoshino nodded and took out a red chip. Swiping it along the long slim slot of her dark blue gadget, she shouted, "Element Swipe! Strengthen!"

Red light engulfed Guile as his muscles tensed. His breathing rate increased as well. He did feel that his heart and head ached, but he believed that the air around him did not seem to yield any hindrance to him. He was physically stronger now, although the surge of energy was about to break past the limit he could handle.

Another roar. Guile turned to the source of the noise. Snibgoblin jumped with its right claws at front. Guile dodged the incoming attack, whipping around quickly and grabbing Snibgoblin's right arm. He spun, before releasing the creature and sending it crashing into a tree.

Looking at the creature trying to get up on its feet, Guile remained still on could breathe slower now as his strength boost was disappearing. Soon, the painful throbs on his heart and head faded.

He then inserted his right hand into his left sleeve, preparing himself for a finishing spell. He pulled out a silver staff and then threw it at Snibgoblin, who was getting up. As the rod was flying across the air, it replicated into two, four, and eight.

"Sword Storm!" Guile roared.

The staves transformed into swords and whizzed towards Snibgoblin. The creature leapt into the air and brought its arms covering its body. However, the swords easily pierced through its defense and tore its flesh. Snibgoblin roared in pain as the stab wounds glowed. His torso slowly disintegrated into shining particles. Soon, his legs, arms, and finally head, followed the disintegration as well. As his body vanished, the swords fell to the ground with a clatter.

Guile flew towards the shining molecules. "Loading data." Upon saying that, Guile saw the glimmering particles began flying towards him.

As the small objects entered his body, he heard Yoshino saying: "Grow stronger, Guile. You deserve it."

Guile remained silent as he absorbed all the particles. After that, he landed at the spot where he destroyed Snibgoblin and snapped his fingers. The swords glowed and merged into one, yielding a silver staff.

Picking up his staff, he said in his mind, _I hope that you learn plenty from this, Yoshino._

"There's nothing left here," Yoshino said, walking away. "Let's go home."

Guile tossed his rod into his left sleeve and turned around. True, there was nothing left. Even the fog had cleared.

However, Guile suddenly felt a light vibration in his head.

"Yoshino, I sense something."

Yoshino stopped and turned to Guile. "What?"

"I sense a being consisting of data nearby."

"There is another?" Yoshino blinked. "But the mist has cleared."

"Perhaps the being has stayed in the real world long enough, though there is a possibility that the being is small," Guile said. "Only a larger being that has just arrived in the real world can conjure up a fog bank."

"Guile, I want you to find and attack the being you mentioned. It may give me better experience in battles. You can get stronger too," Yoshino responded.

"I shall find it." Guile turned around and jumped into the air.

He glided past embankments of trees, and stopped when he heard some noises. He flew and landed on a tree branch. Hiding himself behind the leaves, he looked down, where he could see a boy and a yellow dragon walking together.

_This must be it!_ Guile said to himself, glaring at them.

He remained as silent as a statue while listening to the conversation between the boy and the dragon.

"Draggy, I'm sure that the shack will be a nice place," the boy said.

"Will Ari stay with Draggy there?" Draggy asked.

"No!" Ari replied aloud. "Sorry, but my parents will be very worried if I don't come home."

"But Draggy doesn't like being alone."

"Don't worry; I'll always visit you after school with lots of food!"

"Yay!"

Seeing the friendly yet childlike interactions between them, Guile smiled. They were just children.

Was there a reason to attack them anyway?

ooo


	4. To Fight or Not to Fight?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ari met Yoshino Kobayashi, who challenged Draggy to fight against Guile. Who would triumph?

A girl's voice asked from below, "Have you found them?"

"Yes," Guile replied softly, still standing on the branch of the tree. "They are nearby, Yoshino."

He remained silent as he watched Ari and Draggy passing by. _I can't hurt Draggy. He's just a child!_

In the midst of musing, Yoshino's voice snapped him back to his senses. "They're here! Attack!"

Raising his right hand, Guile gulped. He could not bring himself to disobey Yoshino, but he felt like Yoshino was not telling him to do what was against him.

_I do not think that Yoshino will agree with me, but approaching these children peacefully should be the best way._

Suddenly, Yoshino yelled, "What are you doing? I've told you to attack!"

Guile had no choice. He muttered out incantations, and slowly, tiny bolts of black lightning gathered on his right hand. He then punched, sending a dark thunder ball streaking towards Draggy. The sphere hit the dragon, charring his scales slightly and bringing about a loud roar from him as well.

"Draggy!" Ari screamed, hugging the half-conscious Draggy.

"Step aside, boy," Yoshino said firmly, leering at Ari and Draggy. "It's a duel between the being from the other world."

"But Draggy-"

"No buts!" Yoshino interjected, pulling out her dark blue gadget from the pocket of her jeans. "Guile, defeat Draggy and then load his data!"

Guile jumped off the tree and landed in front of Ari and Draggy. His face remained fierce and stern, but deep in his mind, he was reluctant to hurt the dragon child.

"No! I won't let you!" Ari yelled, hugging Draggy even tighter. "Draggy is my friend, and don't ever hurt him!"

Looking at Ari and Draggy, Guile tried hard not to show his reluctance of attacking Draggy. He gave them a fierce glare and gritted his teeth, implying that he was eager to fight.

"Friends with some sort of data? Ridiculous." Yoshino spitted. "They're created for fighting and hunting down the others. The strong ones defeat and absorb the data of the lesser ones to grow."

Guile sighed upon hearing Yoshino's remark. _That is untrue…_

"Buzz off!" Yoshino roared.

"No!" Ari replied.

"You don't want to?" Yoshino questioned. "If you don't let Draggy fight back, he will die now in front of you."

"No!" Ari screamed. "Why are you so mean?"

Yoshino ignored Ari's question and added, "But if you let Draggy fight and he wins, he may stay alive."

Ari released Draggy. "I guess I have no choice." Then, he took a few steps back. "Do your best, Draggy."

 _I cannot lose, but I must not defeat Draggy as well._ Guile stood still, not noticing that Draggy had lunged forward.

"Guile, your foe is right there!" Yoshino exclaimed.

Guile raised his right arm and curled his fingers into a fist. As purple electric currents crackled along his right forearm, he lowered his arm and pulled it back.

"Draggy, roll!" Ari shouted.

As Guile thrust his fist, Draggy ducked and rolled forward, dodging the attack. The dragon turned and opened his mouth wide.

"Guile, behind you!" Yoshino screamed.

Before Guile could turn around, Draggy's fangs had dug deep into his right arm and cancelled his spell. He gritted his teeth as sharp pain jolted from his wounds. He shook his arm, but failed to break free from Draggy's grasp. The dragon barely budged, even after he attempted to raise his right hand forcefully.

"I'm not letting you win easily…" Yoshino said, taking out a red chip from a pocket on her jeans. Swiping it along the long slim slot of her dark blue gadget, she shouted, "Element Swipe! Strengthen!"

Red light surrounded Guile, sending a surge of energy coursing throughout his body. Despite his heart beating fast, he leapt into the air, bringing Draggy with him as well. After flying upwards for a few feet, he dived with his bitten arm pulled back, as if he were about to punch the earth below.

_I wonder if Draggy knows that I will be slamming him to the ground. I have to avoid defeating him._

"Let him go, Draggy! Then, fly away!" Ari shouted.

Draggy released Guile's right arm and spread his wings. He then flew a few meters away from Guile. He opened his mouth wide and inhaled the air around him.

Realizing that there was nothing weighting his right arm, Guile stopped abruptly. He turned around and saw sparks of flame gathering between Draggy's jaws.

 _I shall stop his spell and avoid injuring him._ Guile reached out his right hand. Small orbs of pristine water flew from every direction and gathered in front of his palm. The orbs merged, forming a huge clear sphere of water.

Guile pulled back his left arm. "Aqua Ball!" He then punched, sending the ball of water skittering towards Draggy, who was rearing back with a fiery sphere between his jaws.

Draggy bent ahead and launched a fireball from his mouth.

The sphere of flame turned to nothing but smoke upon colliding with the water orb. The water ball continued to skim through the air before hitting Draggy, drenching him on impact.

"Draggy, get down and fly to me! You can't create fire when you're wet!" Ari shouted.

Draggy flew downwards quickly. Seeing this, Guile brought his thumb between his index and middle finger, preparing to snap them. He then turned and flew downwards as well, chasing Draggy.

"Just a snap and we'll win! Finish him off, Guile!" Yoshino exclaimed.

 _I am not planning to win. I shall aim inaccurately._ Guile snapped his fingers, sending a tiny bolt of purple lightning flying towards Draggy's right side.

"To the left, Draggy!" Ari shouted at the top of his lungs.

Draggy flew to his left side, dodging the lightning.

"Dodging, eh?" Yoshino asked mockingly. "Sooner or later, Guile will win and absorb Draggy's data."

Before Guile could snap his fingers again, the terrain had come close to his sight. He remained hovering in the air as he watched Draggy flying towards Ari. _At this rate, Yoshino will have no reason to force me to attack._

"Stop now!" Ari yelled, running towards Draggy. "Draggy, you can't win this unfair battle!"

"What's unfair? They're both data," Yoshino said coldly, watching Ari wrapping his arms around Draggy. "Now, stop interfering with the battle!"

"No! Draggy is just a newborn!" Ari replied, squinting.

"Nonsense!" Yoshino rebutted. "Data doesn't age. Now, step aside!"

"I'm not gonna!"

"Leave Draggy alone before I have to force you!"

"I'm not leaving Draggy!"

"Seems like you're so stubborn." Yoshino turned to Guile. "Attack, Guile!"

Guile gasped. This was not what he wanted.

"I say, attack!" Yoshino yelled. "Aim only at Draggy, but if you feel that it's too hard, attack both of them at once!"

Too risky. Draggy was wet all over, and now Ari was hugging him. A small bolt of lightning would harm both of them, and this was an unforgivable act. For Guile, there was nothing worse than hurting children.

 _Whether I upset Yoshino or not, I do not care! This is just…unacceptable!_ Guile crossed his arms. "I refuse to attack."

Ari and Draggy gawked. "Huh?"

"What the hell are you thinking about, Guile? This is your chance to grow!" Yoshino said aloud.

"I believe that fighting is not the only way to grow," Guile replied calmly. "No matter how much data I have absorbed, I still feel that there is something lacking."

Hearing that, Yoshino stomped the ground hard and yelled, "When you first approached me, why did you tell me that you grow after absorbing data?"

Guile turned to Yoshino. "That was my belief in the past, but thanks to a few fights later, I found out that my power was no longer increasing."

"Hmph, do you think I'll trust you?" Yoshino inquired somberly.

"I am telling the truth, but your way of talking shows that you do not trust me."

"You get it just right. Now, I am asking you about the promise we made."

"I fight for you when you wish me to, but you have to answer my question in return. Since I have found out that I was not stronger after absorbing data, what do I require to grow again then?"

Suddenly, a boy's voice reverberated, "Shame on you, Yoshino! Stop picking on Ari!"

Guile, Yoshino, Ari, and Draggy turned to source of the voice, where they saw a black-haired boy standing beside a tree. On his right shoulder, a small white creature was sitting.

"Chikara and Starky!" Ari called out, smiling slightly.

"You're such a pain in the arse, Chikara!" Yoshino snapped. "Whether you're at school or outdoor, you're just as meddlesome!"

Chikara walked towards Yoshino. "I don't find anything wrong with stopping you from bullying a junior."

"You're also my junior!" Yoshino yelled.

"What's wrong with that anyway?" Chikara asked nonchalantly.

"You don't have the right to tell me what to do!"

Chikara's face turned red as he wrapped his fingers into fists.

Starky jumped off Chikara's shoulder and warned, "Well, miss, you mustn't make Chikara angry! If he is mad, he can literally break your bones!"

"Shut up, Starky!" Chikara scolded.

"I'm not afraid of anything!" Yoshino snapped. "Guile, finish off that little alien and take his data as well!"

 _I am tired of this. If it were not because of that enigmatic signal, I should not have approached her._ Guile closed his eyes and let out a 'humph'.

"If you don't want to, fine. Let's leave this place, because I need to have a talk with you, Guile." With that, Yoshino turned around and walked away.

Guile opened his eyes and leapt into the air. He then turned to Yoshino, who was now a fairly small silhouette of a girl. _Sometimes I wonder if we can get along well, Yoshino._ After that, he glided across the sky, following Yoshino.

ooo

"What place is this?" Pip questioned, looking at the big trees surrounding him. "This place just feels like where I come from…"

He skipped past a few trees, but soon, he felt pulsating pain from his small legs. "This place is so big."

He hopped towards a tree not so far from him and sat down. There, he rethought what he had gone through. _Big buildings, many people walking around, strange forest…_

Suddenly, Pip felt light vibration in his head. _The feels… There's something like me nearby._ He got up and hopped around, only to hear noises of leather shoes beating the hard stone ground. Slowly, the figure of two boys walking together with a yellow dragon and a teeny weeny white astronaut became clearer and clearer…

"Those two look like my friends!" Pip cheered, running towards the humans and their companions. "I can feel it!"

ooo

Ari, Draggy, Chikara, and Starky were walking along the stone path. Surrounding the rocky lane were only trees and bushes. That place would have been a forest, if the stony trail had not existed.

"Yoshino said that these characters were created for fighting and hunting down the others, and the strong ones would defeat and absorb the data of the lesser ones to grow," Ari muttered.

"What's wrong with that?" Chikara asked. "We also eat and grow. These characters are no different I guess."

"They can really grow?" Ari questioned, before turning to Draggy. "Oh, no…"

"I'm just guessing anyway," Chikara replied calmly.

Ari remained silent whilst looking at Draggy, who was smiling as he walked.

"Ari? You seem to be concerned about Draggy growing," Chikara said.

"I just couldn't help it!" Ari finally yelled. "If Draggy grows-"

Before Ari could complete his sentence, his mother's words echoed in his ears.

_"Glad to hear that you'll still love your mom when you're all grown up! Not everybody can do that, you know. Some children grow up, get a job, have a family, and forget their parents completely."_

Ari sighed. If Draggy grew, he could be a monstrous dragon that would devour him. Or perhaps Draggy could just look like his young form, but would forget about Ari being the one who brought him to life.

Looking at the rocky ground, Ari muttered, "I just feel uncomfortable saying about why I don't want Draggy to grow."

"Well, I understand if you can't say about it," Chikara said.

All of a sudden, Starky's voice called out, "Hey, everybody! I feel something coming towards us."

Everybody stopped.

"Feel…?" Ari looked ahead. _No, hopefully not Guile and that creepy girl anymore._

A shadow of a little squirrel grew closer and bigger as it hopped towards everybody.

"That's just something harmless I guess," Chikara said.

It was Pip.

Smiling, he skipped towards Starky. "Hi, I'm Pip!"

"He looks friendly," Ari said.

Draggy immediately walked towards Pip and poked him with his snout.

Sniffing Pip's head, he smiled. "You smell like Draggy and Starky too!"

"We're friends!" Pip exclaimed.

"Let's play?" Draggy asked.

Pip jumped repeatedly as if he were bouncing on a trampoline. "Yay!"

"I want too!" Starky said.

Looking at the three creatures laughing, Chikara spoke calmly, "Guys, I don't mean to interrupt your fun, but…won't it be better if you play after we are in the house? We are a few meters away from it."

"House? I can stay at another house?" Starky asked. "That sounds good!"

Chikara shook his head. "Well, not really…"

Draggy blinked. "Draggy will get a house?"

"That's what I've been talking about earlier. Let's go!" Ari said.

With that, they continued walking.

ooo

"Do you know why I want to have a word with you?" Yoshino inquired.

Standing and leaning against the tree with his arms crossed, Guile nodded.

"You aren't fighting when I ask you to!" Yoshino scolded. "What the hell are you thinking about, eh?"

Guile let out a heave. "You are not keeping your promise as well. You ask me to fight, but you have never provided the answer to my question or at least, tried to find the answer."

Yoshino clenched her hands, bringing about an audible crack. "I'm trying to! What makes you think that fighting is not the way to be stronger?"

Guile's voice rose into a roar. "Have I not told you that I am lacking of something in order to grow, even after absorbing a great deal of data?"

"That is because the amount of data provided by the beings you killed is low! You absorb and end up stacking data little by little! Why don't you try absorbing a lot of data at once?" Yoshino snapped. "Now, I'm using my logic." Her voice grew calmer. "Draggy and Starky are unlike the beings we have been fighting against. They aren't some random creeps. Indeed, they're equal to you."

"Equal…?" Guile blinked.

In truth, Guile regret the moment he told Yoshino that he wanted power, and absorbing data was the best way to be stronger. He could not bring himself to hurt Draggy and even Starky, because they were just children.

Unfortunately, if he told the truth that he only wanted affection, a cold person like Yoshino would not be happy about it. She would just make fun of him or whatsoever.

"Do you understand?" Yoshino asked.

At this, Guile believed that if he were against Yoshino, it would only start a quarrel. He had better follow her words.

Head slightly bowed, Guile muttered, "I shall fight then…"

ooo

The sun was at its peak, showering the area beneath with its light. Ari, Chikara, Draggy, Starky, and Pip were now standing on the T junction of the rocky path, facing towards the way that led to a set of concrete staircase and a sturdy stone shed that stood atop a lush hill.

"That's the shack I'm talking about," Chikara said, pointing at the stone hut. "All we need is to climb this set of staircase."

"Are you sure that this place is safe?" Ari asked.

"People rarely visit this area, so don't worry," Chikara replied calmly, before walking towards the staircase.

 _He sounds confident, but I am afraid that Draggy won't feel comfortable inside the shed._ Ari rubbed the back of his neck. He stood still. Even until Starky and Pip had run towards Chikara, he had not budged even a bit.

A childlike voice asked from behind, "What is Ari doing?"

Ari jumped a bit and turned around. "Um, nothing, Draggy. I think I worry too much."

"Ari doesn't want Draggy to stay at the new home?" Draggy asked.

Closing his eyes and turning around, Ari muttered, "No, it's not that…" _Uh, I guess I have to forget about it. Draggy doesn't even worry about a thing._ He then opened his eyes. "Anyway, let's go now!"

Together with Draggy, he walked towards the stone staircase and reunited with Chikara, before proceeding towards the sturdy shack.

As Ari climbed the steps, he felt the cool breeze of the park blowing across his face. He then stopped to look around. Surrounding the staircase he was standing on were trees and bushes. Butterflies were flying around the thickets. A few birds were perching on the branches, chirping in unison as if they were performing in an opera. _The environment is really natural though. I bet Draggy will enjoy it here!_

A loud boy's voice suddenly echoed, "Ari, come on in!"

Ari turned his glance to the shed. A closer look at it reminded him of a jail. It was not the rectangular shape of the shack that made him think of it. Indeed, it was the door, which was a fence consisting of iron bars.

Walking into the shed, Ari looked around. "But Chikara, I don't really feel comfortable leaving Draggy in such place. It just looks like a prison!"

"This isn't as bad as it seems," Chikara replied. "It's pretty wide. Draggy and Pip can stay inside here without a problem."

Suddenly, Starky leapt and landed on Chikara's right shoulder. Sitting there, he said, "Don't worry; I'll spend my whole day playing with both Draggy and Pip."

"Starky, you're coming with me," Chikara said. "I'm sorry, but there's no other choice."

Starky looked at Chikara and yelled, "Chikara! You know that your little sister is treating me like a-"

Chikara brought his left hand smacking Starky's helmet, silencing him abruptly. "Bear with it! She's just a child!"

Scratching his head, Ari asked, "Um, Chikara, what's the matter with your little sister and Starky?"

Chikara jumped slightly in surprise. He did not expect Ari to ask him such question.

"N-no, that's n-nothing, r-r-really!" Chikara stuttered.

Ari chuckled and stepped backwards. "Eh, no problem. I'm just curious."

"Ari!" a childlike voice called from behind.

Ari turned to see Draggy sniffing the air, eyes twitching. "Draggy?"

"Draggy smells somebody," Draggy said.

"Somebody?" Ari asked. _Guile? No, please, not him again!_ He turned to Chikara and Starky. "Is it Guile, Starky?"

"Wait a minute," Starky closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He then opened his eyes and said, "I think it's really Guile. The vibration is very strong."

"Oh, no!" Ari screamed, holding his head with both of his hands. "What should we do? If Guile comes again, Draggy will lose!"

"Don't be panic, Ari," Chikara said calmly. "We win in number. There are Draggy, Starky, and Pip. When all of them fight, we can probably defeat Guile."

"Fight?" Pip skipped towards Ari and looked at Chikara. "I don't like fighting."

Ari let go of his head and turned to Pip. He blinked. "Pip? I thought you could fight and evolve."

Pip simply replied, "I just don't like fighting. I've seen this somewhere, and it's something scary."

"Um, I think it's okay if you don't fight," Ari said, smiling.

"Well, without Pip, I think…" Chikara stroked his chin. "…it won't be a big problem. I still have a trump card."

"Trump card?" Ari asked.

"Magic Negate!" Chikara exclaimed. "Guile's dark magic can kill Starky in a blow, but with this element, he cannot. And this is when Starky takes advantage in the fight!"

"Good idea! Guile is not very good at physical combats!" Ari cheered, but his face suddenly turned grim. "But what if the element is no longer in effect? Do you have another Magic Negate with you? Or you can use the same support element more than once?"

"I only have one Magic Negate, but Starky must have won at that time," Chikara said.

 _He sounds confident, but I don't think that Starky can bring Guile down that easily. Guile is a very tough character._ Ari frowned slightly.

"Now, I have a plan," Chikara continued. "Draggy will attempt to immobilize Guile by biting his leg-"

"That won't work, Chikara," Ari interrupted. "Earlier, Draggy bit Guile's right arm and managed to stop him from casting spells. But after Yoshino had swiped a Strengthen element, Guile was able to carry Draggy to the sky."

"Listen to me!" Chikara yelled. "I'm sure that Draggy can breathe fire while he clamps Guile's leg between his jaws, right?"

Ari turned to Draggy. "Can you do it? When you bite Guile's leg, breathe fire too."

"Like this?" Draggy opened his mouth wide.

He was about to slam his jaws shut, but he suddenly heard Ari shouting: "Don't do that here! You'll burn us!"

Hearing that, Draggy nodded and closed his mouth softly.

"Excellent. Now, if Guile's leg is injured, he cannot move fast in case he has managed to break free of Draggy. However, he can still cast some spells," Chikara continued.

Ari smiled and nodded enthusiastically. "And you'll swipe Magic Negate? Good idea!"

"That's right. At that moment too, Starky will begin charging Raydiation."

"Raydiation? Why doesn't Starky summon a robot?"

Starky jumped off Chikara's shoulder and landed on the concrete floor with both of his tiny legs. "That robot is my friend in my world, and I can't call him here." He then pulled a blue gun with a white parabolic muzzle from his back. "But this ray gun can substitute him."

"It can fire a big beam of light?" Ari asked.

Starky waved his gun and said, "That's its power!"

"And after Starky fires Raydiation, Draggy releases Guile so that only Guile will take the damage. How does this strategy sound to you?" Chikara asked.

"Sounds good!" Ari replied. Soon, his entire face appeared to droop. He actually disliked that plan because it sounded mean. Draggy's bite would create an open wound on Guile's leg, and further burning it would truly cripple Guile. Ari would hate to imagine how painful the injuries might be.

But in actuality, there seemed to be no other choice to keep Draggy and Starky alive. Violence was probably the only way to survive.

ooo

 _In a week, I'm sure that I can delete all those beings!_ Chisiki sneered as he typed on the keyboard of his computer. For him, the Foreign Beings were dangerous to the real world, and eliminating them would equal to removing the threat.

"Mr. Chisiki? You look happier than usual," a soft woman's voice spoke from behind. "Is it because of the fact that no Foreign Being emerges today?"

"It's not that…" Chisiki stopped typing and turned around. Apparently, it was Ami who called him. Lifting his dark glasses with his right hand, he chuckled. "I've found a plan to eliminate these beings. What could be better than this, Ami? You see, my data cleaner program is 10% done!"

ooo

As Starky hopped down the stone staircase that led to the beings' so-called house, he said, "He's nearby. I'm sure of it."

Chikara looked to the left and right whilst walking down the staircase. "Stay alert, everybody! If he attacks us now, it'll be dangerous!"

Stopping abruptly on a step, Draggy looked at Chikara asked, "Why dangerous?"

"Falling off a set of stairs hurts!" Ari quickly answered. "I'm sure that you won't want to try it!"

"Also, Guile can fly, which makes him advantageous in such position," Chikara said. "Now, stay out of this staircase fast!"

"But Draggy can also fly," Draggy said.

"No buts please," Chikara replied sternly. "Get down as fast as possible!"

Ari, Chikara, and Draggy walked down the staircase, while Pip and Starky hopped down the steps.

As everybody had descended the staircase without a scratch, they heard a whoosh from the back.

"It's him!" Starky shouted. "Leave this to us!"

Ari, Chikara, and Pip hasted to a big tree across the stairs, leaving Starky and Draggy behind.

There, Chikara turned around to see Guile hovering in front of Starky and Draggy with his rod in his right hand. _It's really Guile… But I doubt that he is this ruthless. Is he doing this only because of Yoshino?_

"Ah, here you are, Chikara," a woman's voice said from behind. "This time, Guile will show no mercy!"

Chikara turned to the source of the voice and saw Yoshino, who was holding a dark blue gadget in her left hand. Pointing at her, he snapped, "Laugh as much as you want, Yoshino! I have anticipated this condition!"

"Anticipated? Whatever you do, Draggy and Starky cannot defeat Guile," Yoshino said, her face showing no emotions.

 _She is making my blood boil… But my strategy is sure to teach her a lesson!_ Chikara turned his attention to Starky, Draggy, and Guile.

Starky was running away from Guile, who was busy parrying Draggy's claws and fangs with his rod.

After he was a few feet away from Draggy and Guile, Starky pulled his gun from his back and aimed it at the fighting beings.

Seeing the muzzle of Starky's gun glowing, Yoshino yelled, "Guile! Leave Draggy and attack Starky ASAP!"

Guile jumped back and threw his staff at Starky. Like a javelin, it pierced through the air fast.

"Oh, well…" Chikara inserted his hands into the pockets of his trousers. "As I have calculated, this will happen." He pulled out a white gadget from his left pocket and a white element chip from his right pocket. Swiping the element along the long slim slot of his white gadget, he roared, "Element Swipe! Magic Negate!"

A clear barrier engulfed Starky, who was standing still like a statue.

"Magic Negate, huh?" Yoshino muttered. "Just like I thought! Anyway, Guile is not going to cast a spell."

Chikara growled. _Damn it! My strategy is all messed up!_

All of a sudden, Ari shouted, "Draggy! Catch that rod!"

Draggy turned and jumped. He glided towards the rod at a frightening velocity and…he caught it between his jaws.

"You're careless." Yoshino shrugged. "You know what Guile can do with his rod."

Suddenly, purple thunderbolt crackled along the staff. Ari immediately shouted, "Draggy, throw away that rod!"

Draggy turned to Guile and threw the electrically-charged rod at him. Effortlessly, Guile caught it with his right hand.

"Fine, Draggy will be Guile's first target then," Yoshino said calmly.

Guile swung his rod, sending a stream of lightning streaking towards Draggy. But it hit nothing as Draggy leapt into the air.

Seeing the electric current making its way to Starky, Chikara smirked. "That's useless!"

A "What the heck?" was only what Yoshino could let out. The thunderbolt hit the barrier that surrounded Starky and diffused into small bolts of lightning, which vanished upon striking the ground.

"That's it, Starky! Counterattack!" Chikara exclaimed, swinging his hand with the element chip still in his grasp.

"Raydiation!" Starky pulled the trigger of his gun, unleashing a huge beam of light.

The ray hit Guile on his chest, driving him to the stone staircase before exploding violently. Thick black smoke engulfed the area, obscuring everybody's vision.

"I'm sorry, but it's not our fault if Guile ends up dead," Chikara said, shaking his head. "I don't like killing a character for real, but you started all these, Yoshino."

Soon, the smoke cleared. The barrier that had been protecting Starky had disappeared. Guile, whose eyes were closed and flesh was reddening with burns, was lying on a crater amidst the stairs, with his rod resting on his right side.

"It's over!" Pip cheered, leaping repeatedly in excitement.

"Yeah, it is!" Ari said loudly.

"Ari!" Draggy called out as he flew towards Ari. "We won!"

"You're great!" Ari pet Draggy's head as the dragon stopped and landed in front of him.

Starky laughed. "Underestimating us is a big mistake, miss!"

"You really think so?" Yoshino grinned. "Just wait and see…"

Guile opened his eyes and grabbed his rod. Supporting himself with the staff, he stood up.

"Heh, Guile is tougher than he seems." Yoshino chuckled. "You can't win now, unless you have another Magic Negate element with you. And that's impossible, because Magic Negate is a rare element here."

Guile leapt into the air and raised his rod.

 _My strategy failed…?_ Chikara bowed. Starky was in danger, and there was nothing he could do to save the little alien.

Pip shivered and covered his eyes with both of his paws. "I don't like this!"

Ari immediately picked Pip up and hugged him. "It'll be okay!" Ari knew that there was no hope, but perhaps this could at least, comfort Pip.

"Ari, what should Draggy do?" Draggy asked.

"I don't know!" Ari cried out. He was afraid that if Draggy went to help Starky, the dragon might die. But if he clearly told Draggy to stay with him, he might sound selfish.

"Got any last words for your little 'friend', Chikara?" Yoshino taunted. "A dark spell from Guile is sure to finish Starky off."

Chikara gritted his teeth and gripped his white gadget tightly. _She's driving me nuts!_ Suddenly, he looked up and turned to Yoshino. "I'll not surrender to someone like you! You'll never be able to kill Starky!"

After shouting those words, Chikara's gadget shone. It shot a web of glowing white threads at Starky.

Feeling mysterious warmth on his left hand, Chikara loosened his grip on his white gadget. "What is this…?"

"Chikara, look at Pip!" Ari called out.

Chikara turned, and saw that Pip was glowing.

"What's happening to Starky?" Yoshino asked.

Chikara turned his attention to Starky, who was now surrounded by several strings of light. The threads revolved and formed an orb of glowing light that encased Starky.

_"Starky evolves!"_

At this, Chikara gawked in awe. _Evolution…? I've never seen evolution happening to the playable characters other than Pip in the real game._

In less than five seconds, the orb shattered and sent luminescent shards flying in all directions. Suddenly, they veered and merged into a pearl-like object, before hovering away and merging with Chikara's gadget.

The evolved Starky stood there, on the rocky trail of the park. His attire consisted of a cyan helmet and white clothing, but unlike his old self, he was now wearing a pair of silver gloves and boots. His gun had turned into a large single-barreled rifle with a bayonet below its muzzle. He too, was now as tall as an adult man.

"Starky…evolved?" Yoshino questioned.

"It's true..," Chikara said softly. "Starky has evolved."

Ari smiled. "This is unexpected, but maybe we can win now."

Clenching both of his hands, Chikara shouted, "Now, Starky, attack Guile!"

ooo


	5. Out of Control

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> During the battle against Guile, Starky evolved. Troubles arose as this happened, especially that Starky did not listen to Chikara's orders.

Starky aimed his rifle at Guile. Cyan energy gathered in front of the muzzle of his gun and formed a huge orb of light.

Guile gripped his staff tighter. He had never encountered such foe, which made him at a disadvantage.

But winning was not the biggest problem right now. He could probably win, but that might risk Starky's life and even Draggy's.

 _I shall try disrupting his spell._ Black clouds formed in the sky above Guile. Blinding jags of purple electricity streaked across the cumulonimbi, before striking his rod. "Lightning Rod!" Guile swung his staff, ushering forth a streaming thunderbolt at Starky.

"Plasma Cannonball!" Starky pulled the trigger of his rifle, sending the blue ball of light flying towards Guile.

Starky's cyan orb of light collided with Guile's purple thunderbolt. On impact, the sphere diffused the lightning into nothing but tiny sparks, and continued hurtling towards Guile.

Guile cried out as the gigantic orb hit him and detonated, blasting him away to the stone shed. As his back hit the wall of the shack, he winced as stinging pain shot up from his back. He had probably had some of his spines damaged.

"Keep attacking, Starky! We'll win for sure!" Chikara said, his voice brimming with confidence.

Guile stood up, but this time without his staff. _I might have lost my rod when I was hit, but that did not matter._

As he saw Starky running towards him, he leapt into the air, with his right thumb between his right index and middle fingers.

"Get him, Guile!" Yoshino inserted her right hand into the pocket of her jeans, and pulled out a black element chip. She then swiped the chip along the slim slot of her gadget. "Element Swipe! Genius!"

That element amplified his power like hell; Guile knew it. He had better not hit Starky with this; else he might end up killing the alien.

Purple electric current streamed steadily along Guile's right arm. In a split second, he snapped his fingers and sent a huge misdirected wave of lightning.

"Look properly, Starky. There's a good chance to dodge," Chikara called out.

Yoshino grinned as she saw the thunderbolt was about to hit the running Starky. However, Starky's high jump wiped the smirk off her face; the alien dodged Guile's lightning effortlessly.

Starky was a few centimeters away from Guile. He swung his rifle, bringing the bayonet tearing through the air. Guile fell back quickly, but somehow he received a cut on his face.

Suddenly, he felt a foot hitting his gut, followed with a solid strike of a metallic barrel to his chest.

Guile plummeted to the ground, grunting as his back hit the hard earth with a thud. Closing his eyes, he grasped his stomach with his right hand and groaned.

"Stop whimpering and fight back!" Yoshino barked.

Guile opened his eyes slightly. _He actually did not want to fight, but Yoshino was forcing him to._

_But he now had an idea. To prevent any harm happening to Starky and even Draggy, he would only defend._

"You'd better give it up, Yoshino," Chikara said calmly. "Guile will die if he continues fighting."

Yoshino turned to Chikara and snapped, "He won't die just because of this!"

"But…that's mean!" Ari yelled, still hugging Pip. "Don't you see that he's hurt?"

"Data feels no pain!" Yoshino spoke aloud. "They aren't living creatures!"

"They are!" Ari argued. He then looked at Draggy, who was gawking. After that, he looked at Pip, who was still glowing and covering both of his eyes with his small hands. "They're just like us, even if their body is just a mixture of data!"

Suddenly, there was a crash. Ari, Chikara, and Yoshino turned to the source of the noise, while Pip was still covering both of his eyes with his paws.

Seeing Starky pointing at Guile with his oversized rifle, Chikara shouted, "Starky, hold for a moment!"

But Starky did not respond. Instead, he shoved the gun and brought its muzzle closer to Guile's head.

 _Is this the end?_ Guile asked in his mind as he felt the cold steel of the bayonet on his nose. _I am sorry, Starky, but giving up is against my heart._ He grunted, and with all his strength, he delivered a heel into Starky's left leg. The impact sent the alien falling flat on his right side.

Seeing Guile getting up slowly, Yoshino chuckled. "See what I say?"

But a moment later, Starky regained his composure. He swung his rifle, bashing Guile's rib cage with its barrel and knocking the magician away to the thickets.

Upon the collision, Guile sat limply on the floor, gasping for air. Further in front of him, Starky stood still as cyan threads of energy swirled in front of his rifle. They gathered and merged into one, forming a huge orb of light.

"Starky! Stop that!" Chikara shouted.

That scream hinted Guile that the boy did not seem to agree with Starky's behavior. He had better stop Starky now. For him, there was nothing wrong with hurting a maddened child.

"Starky! Stop!" Chikara screamed again.

But Starky did not respond. He continued charging his attack.

"I don't need your mercy, Chikara," Yoshino said nonchalantly. "Guile can still fight I believe." She inserted her right hand into the pocket of her jeans, and took out a white element chip. "You see this? Guile will definitely win!" Swiping the chip along the slot of her gadget, she exclaimed. "Element Swipe! Magnify!"

Sparkling white stars rose from the ground around everybody.

 _She is truly insane._ Guile heaved as the air around him grew hotter, causing drops of sweat to trickle down his temple. _It appears that I have to cast a lesser spell to avoid harming Starky's life._

"You're crazy!" Ari roared. "That'll only worsen everything!"

Yoshino shrugged. "You're completely wrong. Guile can bring Starky down with a dark spell first."

 _That is correct, but I only wish to put a stop to Starky's madness, nothing else._ Guile clenched his teeth, bringing his thumb resting between his index and middle finger. _Besides, that boy does not want Starky like this._

"Starky! Stop!" Chikara yelled, but it was like talking to a stone.

Looking at this, Ari turned to Draggy and commanded, "Draggy, help Guile! Attack Starky from behind!"

Draggy nodded and spread his wings. He glided towards Starky, and stopped when he was about a meter away from the alien.

"Cough Drop!" Rearing back his head, Draggy opened his mouth. Sparks of flame gathered between his jaws and merged together, forming a blazing red orb. He then bent ahead, shooting the fireball at Starky.

The blazing sphere hit Starky's back and exploded, leaving a charred spot on his white clothing and dispersing his concentration.

Seeing the light energy in front of Starky shrinking into nothingness, Yoshino shouted, "Guile, now!"

Guile issued a war cry and snapped his fingers quickly and repeatedly, sending off waves of purple thunderbolts.

All of them zapped Starky. Running around wildly with arcs of lightning encircling him, he let out a shrill roar that seemed to shake the horizon.

"Starky!" Chikara called out, sprinting towards the torching figure which soon stopped scampering.

Yoshino chuckled as Starky falling to his knees. Then, she turned to Guile, who was panting. Seeing this, she frowned. "Get up now, Guile!"

Guile's head bowed a bit, pretending not to hear the order. He chose to do so in hopes that Yoshino would not ask him to fight again.

However, it came with a price.

"You wimp! Get up, weakling!" Yoshino yelled. "You want to get stronger, right? You're just becoming weaker I think!"

Annoyed by Yoshino's remark, Ari stomped the ground. "Shut up! Let Guile rest a bit!"

Yoshino turned to Ari and shook her head. "What a moron. He wants to be stronger, but this proves that he isn't better than before."

Ari gritted his teeth, before roaring aloud, "Although he is data, he can get tired!" He then looked at Pip, whose body was losing its glow. "Draggy, Starky, Guile, Pip… They can feel things, just like us! And the way you treat Guile…" He closed his eyes and yelled, "…is mean!"

As Starky's body hit the ground with a thud, the lightning arcs died out. Soon, white light engulfed Starky, turning him into a glowing figure. It then shrank, releasing a cloud of molecules that flew towards Chikara's gadget.

But Chikara, who was running towards the glowing figure, did not know anything about the molecules and his gadget…

Soon, the light faded, and Starky had reverted back into the little alien he used to be. Even his ray gun was now tied on his back. The only difference was that burnt marks were visible across his white clothing.

Yoshino returned her attention to Guile and Starky before saying out loud, "Anyway, Guile, I give you another chance. Kill Starky and take his data!"

Hands balling into fists, Ari shouted, "Yoshino! How can you say that?"

Chikara stopped running as he arrived behind Starky. He then picked the unconscious alien up with both of his hands and hugged him tightly. Giving Guile a fierce glare, he said, "Don't do that!"

Guile looked at Chikara and Starky and gritted his teeth. Sure, he could aim carefully to finish Starky off and take his data, but he never had the intention to kill. In addition, if he did, he would be an ungrateful bastard because Chikara had tried to save him from his death. Besides, Starky was just a child.

Yoshino's voice thundered across the field. "Just do it!"

Guile closed his eyes and growled. _No, I can't… I can't do it! This is not what I want!_ Suddenly, he shouted, "No!"

"What the heck?" Yoshino wondered out loud. "Guile, are you mad? Or you want to be weaker?"

Guile supported himself with both of his hands and got up. Standing in a somewhat hunched posture, he opened his eyes and glared at Yoshino. "Killing someone who is close to the person who has saved my life is a disgrace! Besides, Starky is just a child!"

Ari and Chikara gasped in unison, while Pip slid his paws to the side to look at what was happening.

"You fool!" Yoshino wagged her fist. "Being so merciful won't make you strong! Now, finish Starky off!"

 _Merciful… Merciful…_ Nope. The issue right now was about showing gratitude and honor, not mercy. Besides, why would Guile pick on a child, especially the one who was close to the person who tried to save him?

Suddenly, another yell came: "Attack! I'm losing my patience now!"

Forcing Guile to disappoint the one who had helped him? Not a chance. That became the last straw that broke a camel's back.

"I have had enough with you, Yoshino!" Guile yelled with a voice that was as loud as a roaring lion. "Becoming stronger is not all about fighting and killing!"

"Guile is right," Chikara said calmly, still holding the unconscious Starky in his hands. "Listen to me, Yoshino. Starky could evolve and become stronger although he did not fight a lot in his past life. So, I think the key to be stronger is not fighting."

Suddenly, a childlike voice whispered, "Chikara…"

Chikara let out a 'huh' as he looked down. Apparently, Starky had regained his consciousness.

"Starky, you okay?" Chikara asked.

"My head still hurts," Starky spoke. "What's just happened?"

"W-what the… Why Starky doesn't remember a thing?" Yoshino's eyes widened.

"Is that why you didn't hear my orders?" Chikara questioned.

"I know it!" Ari suddenly screamed. "Evolution is dangerous!"

"If that's true then…" Yoshino glared at Guile. "Guile can be stronger if he evolves, but this also means that he'll break our promise. So, I quit. If I am to return to my career, then I'll probably find someone else who doesn't require a promise or such. And most importantly, I'll get someone stronger than this pathetic mage."

"Yoshino…" Guile muttered, his mouth taking a downturn on his drooping face. This was actually not he wanted.

A loud "Go away!" was Yoshino's only answer.

As she said those words, Yoshino's gadget glowed. Soon, it shattered, leaving nothing but sparkling stars hovering in the air. A few seconds later, they vanished without leaving a trace.

"The g-g-gadget… What does this mean?" Ari stuttered a bit.

"Don't know; don't care." Yoshino turned around and walked away from everybody, sulking.

 _Yoshino, I truly wish for the other way round. But if you are happy without me, then I am…fine with it._ Guile turned around with his head bowed slightly. As he did, he found a surprise; Draggy was standing with a silver staff in his scaly hands.

"Your staff?" Draggy asked.

Draggy's behavior struck Guile as odd. Even though he had hurt Draggy earlier, the dragon could still be so nice to him.

Guile nodded and took the staff gently with his right hand. Then, he brought the lower tip of the rod touching the ground softly. "Thank you, Draggy." After that, he looked back. "Take care, all of you."

With that, he used his staff to support himself whilst limping away. _Sometimes I wish that one of those two kids is my partner instead of Yoshino. They seem to be very kind._

ooo

Inside a dim room, Chisiki was sitting at his table, mashing the keys of computer's keyboard. In front of him, countless letters appeared rapidly on the black screen of the monitor as he typed.

 _It's 20% done now!_ He sneered, and suddenly burst into a maniacal laughter. "I can complete this in less than a week!"

"Mr. Chisiki?" a woman's voice asked.

Chisiki stopped typing. He turned around to see Ami gawking and lifting an eyebrow… As if she had just seen a madman!

"I'm just happy with how my data cleaner program is going, Ami," Chisiki calmly said before returning his focus to the computer. "I guess I'll take a break later, seeing how fast my progress is. Maybe strolling at Shinjuku Park will make me feel great!"

Rubbing her chin with a hand, Ami replied, "Um, I guess."

ooo

Ari, Chikara, and Draggy were walking up the damaged stone staircase that led to the shed. Everybody was walking up with somber faces, except Draggy, Pip, and Starky.

Looking at everybody's gloomy expressions, Starky japed whilst sitting on Chikara's right shoulder. "Beware! The staircase is out of order!"

"Yeah, we know," Chikara replied nonchalantly.

With a medium-sized crater amidst the steps, they walked slowly to avoid falling, except Draggy. He simply walked up and up…until he tripped over the cracked edge and fell into the pit with a thud.

"Draggy!" Ari called out, still with Pip in his arms. "If you think walking is difficult, why don't you just fly?"

Draggy got up and blinked. He then chuckled. "Draggy forgot." Leaping into the air, he spread his wings before flapping them.

Ari smiled slightly as he watched Draggy flying towards the shack. _Funny little guy…_

Soon, everybody arrived at the entrance of the shed. Draggy was the first to fly into it, and then followed with Pip, who jumped off Ari's arms and skipped rapidly into the 'cage'.

Draggy landed on the floor and fell softly on his back. "Draggy wants to sleep."

"It's too early to sleep!" Pip said, galloping towards Draggy.

The dragon yawned, bringing his left paw in front of his gaping mouth. "Draggy is tired, so Draggy wants to sleep." He then placed his left hand on his stomach and closed his eyes.

"B-but what should I do now?" Pip asked. "It's so scary outside!"

No answer.

"Maybe I'll also sleep…" As Pip was about to sit on the floor, he noticed that Ari and Chikara were talking with long faces.

"Actually, I don't understand about all these!" Ari complained.

"About evolution?" Chikara stroked his chin. "That struck me as odd, especially that Starky didn't listen to me."

"That's not the only thing. I worry more about Yoshino and Guile," Ari replied. "I just don't understand why that mean girl is being so cruel to Guile."

"Well, that's the Yoshino we know." Chikara shrugged. "If you hear some gossips at school, you'll know that she's a jerk."

"Do you think she can change into a kind person?"

"Maybe, but it'll be difficult. Still remember what my plan for the battle was?"

"Yeah, and honestly, that's pretty mean. But there isn't much to do if we want to keep Draggy and Starky alive, huh?"

"Actually, I never intend to hurt Guile badly. I just want to show Yoshino that he isn't a pile of data. I want her to change!"

"And it was useless."

Chikara sighed. "Yeah."

Looking up at the ceiling, Ari rubbed his face with a finger repeatedly. "I wonder how Guile is doing now… He doesn't look so good after the fight."

"Why don't you try finding him?" Chikara suggested, smiling.

"Sounds like a good idea!" Ari nodded, before looking back to find Draggy…sleeping. "Draggy?"

"No wonder if Draggy sleeps! The fight earlier made me tired too!" Starky quickly informed.

Ari turned to Starky and nodded.

"Tired? Oh, okay then, let's go home!" Chikara said. "Everybody must have been waiting for us at home."

"What? Chikara, can't I stay here?" Starky asked with a high-pitched voice.

"Sorry, but you must come with me." Chikara turned around and walked away. "Please, I'll try my best to keep her distracted!"

"You don't seem to put a lot of efforts when doing that!"

"Shut up!"

"At least, try lying to her!"

"Shut up! You hear me?"

"Uh, yeah, but-"

"No more buts!"

The bickering grew softer and softer as Chikara and Starky were further, and soon, it was gone. It left Ari baffled, with his mouth agape whilst looking at the exit of the shed.

_Really, what's the matter with them?_

"Mister?" a squeaky voice asked.

Surprised, Ari turned to see Pip blinking. "Eh, nothing! What's up?"

"Mister said that mister wanted to see Guile?" Pip asked.

"Um, don't call me 'mister' please." Ari snickered. "Just Ari, okay?"

"Okay… So, Ari wants to see Guile?" Pip asked again.

"I want to, but Draggy is sleeping," Ari muttered.

"Draggy said that he was tired, so he slept."

"He said that? Oh, well, I won't bother him then."

"But I'm bored here…"

"Bored? You want a walk or what?"

"I want to see Guile, but it's scary outside."

"No, it's really safe! If you're afraid, I'll just hug you tightly. Sounds good for you?"

Pip's eyes widened. He suddenly threw his paws to the air and shouted in glee, "Yay!"

Ari smiled and picked Pip up with both of his hands. Hugging the white squirrel, he looked back and glanced at Draggy. _I don't really feel comfortable leaving Draggy alone here, but I think it's okay because he's sleeping… I guess I'll be checking him again later._ Then he walked out of the shed.

Outside, Pip suddenly said, "Strange… I feel something growing is around the forest."

"Something growing?" Ari gasped, nearly dropping Pip. "Is that Guile or something else?"

"I don't know." Pip opened his eyes. "The feeling keeps getting stronger."

 _It can be Guile. I think the battle has weakened him, and he's recovering._ Ari stepped ahead and began walking down the staircase. "Where does that feeling come from?"

"From the right," Pip answered.

Still walking down the staircase, Ari muttered, "Hmm, he must be around the forest area then."

When he had done descending the stairs, he asked, "Which side now?"

"Still right," Pip replied.

Ari turned right and sprinted. As he ran, he looked to the left and right, and stopped abruptly when he saw a large opening amidst the bushes on his right side.

 _I swear that earlier today, there's no such thing! Could it be Guile…?_ Ari walked slowly towards the thickets, and entered the forest through the opening.

There, he looked around. On his sight, there were only grassy floor and clusters of trees. Thinking that he could not find anything else at his current position, he proceeded.

After passing a few trees, Ari suddenly heard Pip saying: "He's around here!"

Ari let out a 'huh' and stopped beside a tall tree.

All of a sudden, a baritone voice came from about five meters above, "Am I the one you are referring to?"

 _That sounds like Guile, but…_ Ari gulped. He believed that Guile would never like someone spying him.

He then shook his head. _Uh, well, Guile seemed to be nice to us earlier. I guess he won't get angry after all!_ Pushing his fear aside, he looked up.

Guile was sitting on a sturdy branch of a tree with his legs stretched along the lengthy bough. His white garment was somewhat tattered and charred. The cut he received from Starky's bayonet was still visible on his face.

With his gaze locked on Ari, Guile asked calmly, "You were the one with Draggy before, were you not?"

"Y-yes, I am," Ari stuttered. _I dunno, but his way of talking scares me a bit. Is he angry at me for snooping around?_

Guile closed his eyes and gave out a gentle smile. "Thank you for the assistance earlier."

Hearing Guile's words, Ari's mouth was agape. He was not expecting Guile to speak like that.

Ari rubbed the back of his neck, laughing. "Ah, never mind! How are you feeling now?"

"My back still hurts, but I am feeling better overall," Guile replied.

"Oh, good then!" Ari said happily. "Guess it's better without Yoshino, huh?"

Guile paused for a moment, before chuckling. "Yes, I am glad to have left her."

"Really?" Ari's eyes widened. "That's good! I heard that she is very mean even at school!"

"But mister, why were you with her before?" Pip asked.

"Hush, Pip!" Ari whispered, glaring at Pip. "You're asking something too personal."

"I beg your pardon?" Guile said; his eyes were now open. "I thought I heard you asking why I was with Yoshino."

 _He's sharp; I don't think I can tell a lie._ Ari raised his head and looked at Guile. "Uh, yeah."

"Her intelligence," Guile replied. He then looked away, staring blankly at the blue sky. "I believed that she could help awakening my dormant power, but I was wrong."

 _Interesting… I guess it's okay if I ask him some questions too._ Raising an eyebrow, Ari asked, "Dormant power? Why?"

No answer. Guile's gaze was still at the sky. He could probably be daydreaming, or not willing to answer the question.

 _I think my question is going too deep…_ Ari quickly said, "Eh, just forget about my question!"

Guile turned to Ari. He remained silent for a moment, before closing his eyes and answering softly with one word: "Rivalry."

 _Rivalry…?_ Right now, Ari wanted to ask the what, who, when, where, why, and how about this rivalry issue, but he was afraid to do so. Guile did not seem to be happy when he asked this question.

"I never feel comfortable talking about this." Guile sighed. Wrapping his fingers into fists, he muttered, "If only I were stronger…"

 _The rivalry must be something very bad…_ Ari could not help but think about this issue. Had this problem taken away the lives of the people Guile loved, such as his parents or close friends? Or had it made his life a living hell, such as leaving him with little to no money?

Ari turned around and said, "Um, I guess you want to be alone? I'll leave then."

No answer. The place was silent like a graveyard at night.

 _I think it's okay if I leave…_ Ari began walking away.

Suddenly, Pip said, "Mister, can I stay here?"

Ari stopped on his tracks abruptly. "Pip, it's more polite if you-"

"I hear that." Guile's baritone voice echoed across the quiet forest. "It is fine if you stay."

"Yay!" Pip cheered. "But don't worry, mister! I just want to wander around here, and won't disturb you!"

"All right then." Ari crouched and released Pip from his grip. He then looked back at Guile. "I'll be leaving because I'm a bit concerned about Draggy. I left him alone inside a nearby shed."

Guile nodded. "Give my regards to Draggy when you see him."

"Okay!" Ari replied as he began walking away.

Strolling ahead to where he entered the forest, he smiled to himself. _Guile is really a nice person! This just makes me wonder why Yoshino treats him so badly._

It took about three minutes for Ari to get out of the tree-filled area. He then turned left and walked until he reached the T junction.

 _I hope that Draggy is awake now._ Ari turned left to the stone staircase. He walked up the steps slowly. When he was about to reach the shed, he stopped as he heard a loud snoring noise coming from the shack.

 _Still sleeping!_ Ari gawked. He then walked up the last few steps and looked through the iron bars of the door.

Inside, Draggy was lying on the floor, his chest rising and falling as snoring noises resounded.

Seeing this, Ari turned away and smiled. "I hope that Draggy won't make a mess when he wakes up. I must go home too."

ooo

White light bulbs were hanging on the ceiling of a hallway. At this moment, none of them was emitting radiance as the area was still bright.

A childlike voice emerged from Chikara's back, exactly from his schoolbag, "Remember to distract her, Chikara!"

"Yeah, I know," Chikara grumbled, knocking the wooden door in front of him with his right hand. "Mom, it's me, Chikara!"

The door opened, revealing a woman in a blue dress and a white apron behind.

Pushing her glasses up onto her nose, she said, "Welcome home! Haruko has been waiting for you."

 _Oh, no!_ Chikara sighed. "Uh, she wants to see Starky?"

The woman nodded, before turning around and walking away. Chikara followed her into the houseroom.

As Chikara closed the door, a little girl in pink dress rushed towards him. "Big brother! Where's Starky?"

_Chikara gasped._ _Ugh, it's Haruko! Have to think fast!_

Haruko stopped running and blinked. "Um, where's he?"

"Inside my bag, but he got a bit dirty earlier. I need to wash him first," Chikara replied calmly. "So, be a good girl and wait, okay?"

"Can I wash him?" Haruko asked.

"You may damage him if you do, so just let me do it," Chikara remarked, walking past the little girl hastily.

"Okay," Haruko said.

 _Sorry, but I have to do this, Haruko._ Chikara walked, passing a set of sofa and table and heading towards a wooden door further in front of him.

Suddenly, Haruko yelled from behind, "Big brother, that's not the bathroom!"

Chikara halted and gulped. How was he supposed to get out of this? He was sure that Haruko would be sad if she caught him lying, but Starky hated to be with her.

 _If Haruko catches me telling a lie, she'll be sad, and Dad will get angry…_ Chikara took off his schoolbag and placed it on the sofa beside him. Unzipping his bag, he whispered, "Sorry, Starky."

Inside the bag, Starky placed his ray gun beside a row of books, before crossing his arms and shaking his head.

Chikara picked Starky up with both of his hands. Upon taking him out of his schoolbag and turning to Haruko, he said, "Just don't do anything strange to him."

Haruko immediately stormed and snatched Starky from Chikara's hands. She cradled the little alien and walked away while asking, "Starky wants to drink tea with me?"

 _I failed badly._ Chikara sighed, before zipping his schoolbag and lifting it with both of his hands. He walked towards the door, and suddenly stopped. _I don't understand why I have to end up with Starky. He has made me quite stressful!_

He opened the door and walked into his bedroom. Inside, he pushed a switch on the wall beside him.

Click!

The Teflon-coated lamp on the ceiling flickered once, before becoming a cylinder that emitted white radiance. The light brightened the room, revealing a bunk bed on the right corner of the room. On the other corner, there were a plastic desk and chair with a computer set and printer on the table.

Chikara closed the door and walked towards the desk. He placed his schoolbag on the ceramic floor, before pulling out the chair and sitting on it. He then inserted his right hand into the pocket on his trousers, taking out his white gadget.

Looking at the device, Chikara's eyes were growing wet. Starky's appearance in his house had made him stressful.

First and foremost, Starky initiated his conflict with Haruko. Chikara knew that Starky hated being with his little sister because she treated him like a doll. But what to do? Haruko would cry aloud if he did not allow her to play with Starky, and their parents would be angry at Chikara for being a bad brother. With no other choices, Chikara chose to sacrifice Starky to keep his sister happy…

But how would Starky feel if he kept doing that?

Secondly, Starky's existence in the real world drew conflicts. This alien was not powerful, yet he had to face Guile, who was clearly stronger than him. But that was not the main issue. Starky could evolve into a stronger being, but he seemed to ignore Chikara's orders. Of course, it would soon be a disaster if Chikara did not find the way to control Starky in his evolved form…

But how could he learn more about the nature of evolution?

Chikara smacked the surface of the desk with his free hand. _I sometimes wish that Starky has never appeared!_

He put his gadget down abruptly, which suddenly glowed as it touched the surface of the table.

"Wha-"

An arrow of light shot up from the monitor of his gadget. Chikara could see and feel that everything was getting blurry and shaky as it entered his forehead.

"Uh, I think I am…" Before Chikara could finish speaking, he slumped from the chair, eyes closed.

ooo

_It all happened about ten days ago._

_Chikara was sitting on a chair, staring at the mathematical problems on his textbook and tapping his pencil against the desk. He was wondering what he should do to solve these algebraic things when he heard someone knocking on the door._

_He turned to the door. "Come in."_

_The door opened slowly, and revealed a grey-haired man in a pair of spectacles behind. He was holding a white box in his hands._

_Walking in, the man smiled. "Good afternoon, Chikara! I manage to buy something you've been wishing to have."_

_"Really, Dad?" Smiling, Chikara walked towards his father, Hachiro Jikan. "Is it the Serge board?"_

_Hachiro shook his head. "A Starky board."_

_Chikara raised an eyebrow. "Starky?"_

_"This is the white innate board I can afford without affecting our household finances," the man said flatly._

_"But I want a Serge board…" Chikara muttered._

_"Hmm… How much is your savings then?" Hachiro asked._

_Hearing this, Chikara's eyes widened. Judging from Hachiro's speech, he knew that he had to spend his own money for the board._

_"Well, if you want it, buy it with your own money," Hachiro replied sternly. "You know, I can't possibly spend too much money just for something other than our daily needs."_

_Chikara knew that Hachiro was right. He along with his father, mother, and little sister were living in a flat. His father worked as a computer teacher at Shinjuku High, and his salary was just enough to cover all of their daily needs. On the other hand, Chikara's mother was just a housewife, and did not help with the household finance._

_"Um, just about one thousand yen," Chikara finally said. "Actually, I want a Serge board because he is one of the strongest-"_

_"Chikara!" Hachiro interjected. "How many times have I told you? I want you to be able to face and solve a challenge because that skill is very important nowadays!"_

_A pause._

_"If you start immediately with a strong character, there's no challenge. If there's no challenge, you'll get lazy. If you're lazy, how is the future of our family?" Hachiro questioned. "The reason I say this is because I want you to be a hardworking person! Hard work is the key to success!"_

_Chikara bowed his head. His father was right. With the strongest character in hand, there would be no challenge, and he did not have to work hard to win. But if he had a weak character in hand, it might be difficult to defeat someone with a strong character, and this would force him to work hard if he wished to be victorious._

_"You're right, Dad. I'll start with Starky," Chikara said. "I can learn something from such experience too."_

_"I'm glad you understand." Hachiro smiled slightly. "Starky is just right for you. He isn't really powerful, but if you work hard, I'm sure that you can figure out good strategies to power him up."_

_Chikara took the white box from Hachiro's hands. "Thank you, Dad."_

_Hachiro nodded. He then turned around, walked out of the room, and closed the door._

_Chikara walked towards his bed and placed the box on his bed. He actually wanted a Serge board instead of Starky, but he was certain that if he asked his dad again, what he would receive was only a reprimand._

_Lifting the lid, he saw what was in the case: a white plastic board with Starky's picture on one side and a set of rectangular holes beside it._

_He took the plank out of the container with his right hand, and revealed a pile of colorful chips beneath. Amidst the heap, there was something that stood out: an iridescent chip._

_"It's the Chrono Cross element…?" Chikara asked silently, before picking up the rainbow chip with his left hand. "I think I'll try inserting it into the element grid."_

_He placed the chip on one of the slots beside Starky's picture. Suddenly, the board shone, forcing Chikara to drop the plank from his hand and close his eyes._

_"What's happening? It's too bright!" Chikara wondered out loud._

_About a minute later, he could open his eyes and see normally. Looking down, he could see a white gadget resting atop the mound of chips in the box._

_"No… Where has the board gone? Why this strange device is here instead?"_

_A brief pause. Chikara then grabbed the device with his right hand. As he looked at it, a big red X appeared on the monitor of his gadget._

_Frowning, Chikara scratched his head. "What does this mean?"_

_All of a sudden, several tapping noises were audible. A childlike voice emerged from beneath Chikara's bed. "What place is this?"_

_"Huh?" Shocked, Chikara crouched and scanned the area under his bed. True, there was something! An alien in a cyan helmet and white clothing was standing there and looking around._

_"I-i-it's…Starky!" Chikara stuttered as he began to shiver._

_Starky turned to the boy."You're calling me, mister?"_

_Standing up, Chikara held his head with both of his hands and screamed, "Tell me that this is just a dream!"_

_Starky walked out of Chikara's bed and rubbed his helmet with his right hand. "Mister, why are you screaming?"_

_Chikara looked down and saw Starky gawking with a hand on his helmet._

_Apparently, Starky did not mean any harm._

_"Well, forget about it!" Chikara picked Starky up with both of his hands. Smiling, he said, "I'm Chikara Jikan, but just call me Chikara."_

_"Chikara! What happened?" A hoarse voice called from behind as a thud resounded._

_Holding Starky in his arms, Chikara turned around to see Hachiro and Haruko standing at the entrance of his room._

_Afraid that they would exaggerate things if he told the truth about Starky, Chikara decided to lie._

_"Um, I found this doll in the box and was shocked," Chikara answered._

_"A doll? It's so cute!" Haruko smiled widely, running towards Chikara._

_Hachiro flashed Chikara a smile and turned around. Before walking out of the room, he said, "Take good care of Starky then."_

_Chikara's mouth was ajar. His father seemed to be strange. Did he know that Chikara was telling a lie? But how could he know that Chikara was telling a lie?_

_"Oh, so this doll's name is Starky! Can I play with him?" a girl's voice asked, snapping Chikara out of his thoughts._

_"Dad told me to take good care of this doll, so no. Sorry, Haruko," Chikara replied._

_"But I want to play!" Haruko insisted._

_Chikara's voice rose. "Sorry, but you can't!"_

_Hearing this, Haruko cried aloud. "Waaah! You're so mean!"_

_Chikara had no choice but to hand Starky to Haruko. His father would be very angry if he made his little sister sad._

_"I'm sorry, Starky…" Chikara whispered. "...but I promise! One day, I'll be sure to find a solution for this problem!"_

ooo

At this moment, Chikara felt like he was lying on something cold and slippery. He opened his eyes, and saw the clean white panels of the floor and the foot of the table. Apparently, he had slept so soundly that he had slipped from his chair.

Rising to sitting position, Chikara muttered, "I thought I was having a dream."

He stood up and turned to the desk, on which surface his white gadget rested. It was still glowing faintly.

Looking at the gadget, Chikara smiled. _This gadget must have been involved in knocking me out. Thanks to it, I now know that I'm destined to be with Starky. I have to work hard so that I can find a way to free Starky from Haruko, and me being a hardworking figure is what Dad wants._

ooo


	6. A Clue from the Past

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yoshino had a flashback about how she met Guile.

Guile was sitting on a stout branch of a tree. Eyes closed and arms crossed, he wondered if Yoshino were happy without him. As for him, he was quite…glad because he was now free from her abusive treatment.

But Yoshino was not mean most of the time. While she often neglected Guile, there were times when she brought him a plate of rice and some salmon fillets. She did not speak much when she did it though.

However, Guile himself had a conflicting thought. If Yoshino were kind towards those two kids and their little friends, that battle would not happen. As a result, Guile could still hope that she would care for him as much as how those two kids cared for Draggy and Starky.

Unfortunately, it was obvious that Yoshino would never care for him. He still remembered the loud "Go away!" she uttered as she left.

_Could we not be good friends, Yoshino? I know you are upset, but I…I can't hurt those children! They don't do anything wrong!_

The conflicting thoughts brought turmoil upon Guile's mind. He snapped his eyes open, gritting his teeth. He suddenly slammed his right hand into the tree trunk. "Yoshino, why?"

"Mister?" a squeaky voice called from below.

Guile looked down and saw Pip, who was skipping towards him. He inserted his right hand into his left sleeve and pulled out his rod, before supporting himself with it to get up and stand on the bough.

"Mister, you look angry," Pip said.

Guile looked away and closed his eyes. _I am both angry and sad… All I want in my life is just-_

A question came from Pip and snapped Guile out of his thoughts. "Why are you angry?"

Guile said under his breath, "Pip, it is…personal."

"Mister? I can't hear you!" Pip replied, his head tilting to his right side.

Guile turned to Pip and gripped his rod tighter, as if he were to break it apart. Pip kept asking him something that he hated to talk about, and this fact was grating Guile's nerves. However, even though he was angry, he could not bring himself to hurt Pip. The squirrel seemed to show his concern towards him.

Hoping to clarify things to Pip, Guile jumped off the snag. However, as he leapt, a snap resounded from his back. Letting out a painful cry, he lost the control of his flight and plummeted to the grassy earth below.

"Mister!" was what he heard as his body hit the ground.

Backing himself up with both of his hands, Guile looked at Pip. "I am fine. Perhaps it should have been better if I had stayed on ground."

As Guile was getting up, Pip asked, "Then why did mister stay up there?"

Guile, who was now standing in a stooped position with his staff as a support, chuckled. "The breeze is nicer up there. While here, especially when the wind blows, leaves will fall off. That will disturb me."

"Mister-"

Guile quickly interrupted, "Just call me Guile."

"Okay!" Pip stroked his plump chin with a paw. "But I'm just wondering why you are angry."

A broad voice suddenly boomed. "Angry because you can't destroy this world? Heh, that's good!"

Guile immediately turned to the source of the voice. Apparently, it came from a man in a black trench coat and shades.

"I know you!" Guile exclaimed, glaring at the man. "You are Chisiki!"

Chisiki chuckled. "So, you still remember me, eh?"

Guile growled. Seeing Chisiki reminded him of his first battle in the real world.

ooo

_It happened last Saturday evening._

_As Guile glided along the alleyway, he could feel that the vibration in his head was growing stronger._

_"There is a being nearby," Guile said._

_Behind him, Yoshino was running, with a dark blue gadget in her right hand. "The being is here? Why isn't there a fog bank like you've told me?"_

_Guile calmly replied, "Perhaps it has stayed here so long that the mist has disappeared."_

_Suddenly, Guile stopped on his tracks as the vibration in his head dissipated. In front of him, a slim furless black tail was wriggling amidst a mountain of trash._

_"That must be the being," Guile said. "I can sense it."_

_Yoshino, who had stopped running, roared, "What are you waiting for then? Attack!"_

_As Yoshino's command echoed, Guile pulled out a silver rod from his left sleeve._

_He raised his staff and closed his eyes. Clumps of black cloud gathered above him and shot bolts of lightning to his staff as he muttered, "Lightning…"_

_Suddenly, Yoshino asked from behind, "Don't you need to attack physically first before casting a spell or an element?"_

_Ignoring Yoshino, Guile opened his eyes and shouted, "…Rod!"_

_He swung his staff and unleashed a stream of lightning streaking towards the tail. As the thunderbolt collided with the tail and trash, an explosion occurred. Thick black smoke engulfed the area as cans and other solid garbage flew everywhere._

_Soon, the smoke cleared, revealing the aftermath of the explosion. A big black cat was lying on the ground between some rubbish, its furless body smoldering._

_Guile then turned to Yoshino. "I apologize for not answering your question before. I can cast a spell anytime."_

_"What?" Yoshino stomped the ground hard. "Why didn't you tell me about that? How the hell can I practice my strategy?"_

_"I do not understand why I have to attack physically first before casting a spell," Guile replied, stroking his chin._

_Frowning, Yoshino smacked the brick wall beside her with her left hand. "Damn you! That's the basic rule in the game!"_

_"Even so, you can still practice your strategy," Guile assured. "Do you still remember what I have told you about your gadget?"_

_Yoshino nodded, her face remaining grim. "I can support you with this by swiping an element along its slot. What's the big deal?"_

_"You can know which support elements work best on me," Guile answered._

_Yoshino shrugged. "Meh, support elements aren't my style, especially the defensive ones. They are only for weaklings."_

_"Yoshino, you can vary your strategy with support elements," Guile ascertained, smiling slightly. "Try using 'Genius'."_

_All of a sudden, there was a roar from behind. Guile turned to see what was happening; a big black cat was airborne with its knife-like claws at front._

_Guile raised his rod to block the incoming attack, but a sharp pain suddenly shot up from his right shoulder. He looked down to see that the feline had dug its claws deep into his right collarbone._

_In a flash, the cat pulled back its talons, tearing the flesh around Guile's wound and drawing out blood._

_Feeling an amalgamation of burning and stabbing pain from the injury, Guile lost the control of his right arm. His limb was now limp. Unable to wrap the fingers on his right hand anymore, he dropped his rod._

_In front of him, the black cat grinned and raised its bloodstained paw, waving it inwards as a taunt._

_"Guile! Don't tell me that you're losing now!" Yoshino shouted at Guile. "That's just a random creep called Shadow Cat, you wimp! Kill it fast!"_

_Breathing heavily, Guile squinted. He knew that the pain was crippling, but would that stop him from fighting?_

_Probably not. He still had one good arm with him, and he could cast a spell with it._

_Raising his left arm with the palm facing the sky above, he shouted, "Yoshino, use 'Genius' now!"_

_Gentle breeze blew across the alley as a small glowing ball of lightning appeared above Guile's palm. The sphere grew bigger for every second passed. Electricity crackled around it more and more steadily._

_Seeing the growing thunder ball, Shadow Cat leapt. It opened its mouth wide, revealing the blade-like fangs within._

_All of a sudden, Yoshino roared, "Element Swipe! Genius!"_

_The thunder ball bloated instantly. Now, its edge nearly collided with the walls surrounding the corridor._

_"Ball Lightning!"_

_Like swatting a shuttlecock with a racket, Guile ushered forth the gigantic sphere of lightning._

_Shadow Cat, as it had leapt to the air, had no choice but to collide with the oversized ball of shock. On impact, the sphere detonated violently, unleashing a blinding flash of light that engulfed the entire area. There was a painful roar, but soon, the noise faded._

_Moments later, the flash died out. What was left was only a cloud of shining molecules. The surrounding walls too, were now scorched with threads of smoke escaping from them._

_"It is over," Guile uttered, looking back at Yoshino. "I hope that you do learn something from this."_

_"Genius seems to enhance your magic a lot," Yoshino replied. "I guess next time I'll try combining it with Magnify to further increase your power."_

_A brief pause._

_Yoshino then pointed at the clump of particles. "What are those glowing things?"_

_"When a being dies, its body disintegrates into data, which is represented by countless amounts of glowing particles," Guile answered. "I can absorb them to speed up my wound-healing and also, grow."_

_"Hmm, they are like food for you?" Yoshino asked._

_Guile nodded._

_"Absorb them then," Yoshino said rather nonchalantly. "You need to recover fast so that we can learn again."_

_Guile returned his focus to the hovering cloud of molecules. "Loading data."_

_As those words left Guile's lips, the cluster of particles flew towards him and entered his body. At that, Guile felt tingling sensation on his right shoulder. He turned his attention to his collarbone and watched the bloody wound sealing itself up._

_"Loading data? Are you crazy or what?" a broad voice of a man came from behind._

_Guile turned back to see a man in dark glasses gawking._

_"Who are you?" Yoshino asked._

_"I am Chisiki Takashi," the man replied. "You seem to have made a lot of mess here."_

_"Yeah, what's your problem?" Yoshino asked again, her tone growing higher._

_Ignoring the girl, Chisiki turned his attention to Guile and said, "Hmm, I know you. You aren't from this world."_

_"Have we ever met before?" Guile questioned._

_"Just like I thought!" Chisiki said, pointing at Guile. "You, a being from data, will cause lots of troubles in this world!"_

_"Really?" Yoshino questioned._

_Chisiki told Yoshino, "You'd better stay away from him, youngster. He is dangerous! Look at the mess in the alley!"_

ooo

Regaining his senses, Guile muttered, "No… I will not harm anybody in this world unless it is necessary."

Chisiki shrugged. "What about the crater on the stone staircase nearby and the opening amidst the bushes here? I don't think it's necessary to damage those things."

Guile staggered back and remained silent. Chisiki had backed him to the corner with a question. If Guile admitted that he created those things, Chisiki would emphasize the fact that he was dangerous or such.

"Admit it, scum from the other world!" Chisiki pointed at Guile. "You're here to cause troubles, aren't you?"

Guile clenched his jaw and scrunched his brow. He did not have the intention to cause chaos in the real world, but Chisiki kept saying the opposite. And this was getting on his nerves.

"I guess I'm just asking the obvious." Chisiki guffawed. "But don't worry. You and your little friend will soon die a painful death."

The last line was aggravating. Threatening to torture Pip, his little friend?

Roaring like an angry lion, he thrust his rod with the forked tip at the front, ready to impale through Chisiki's chest.

Chisiki sidestepped and dodged Guile's assault, but not entirely. Two red lines were now visible on the right sleeve of his trench coat.

With a momentary lightning quickness, he grabbed the shaft of Guile's staff. Grasping it firmly, he pulled the rod, dragging Guile towards him as well.

Chisiki raised his free hand. "Is it necessary to hurt me?" Drawing all the fingers on the hand sticking to each other except the thumb, he added, "Well, I can just squeeze the air out of you right now, but because I want you to suffer more, I'll let you go." Grinning mischievously, he swung his hand.

It only took a moment for Guile to figure out what Chisiki was doing. A forceful blow landed on the back of his neck and paralyzed his entire body. Soon, he noticed that everything was shaking. Even Chisiki had turned into nothing but a blurry mixture of black and tan.

"Good night!" was what he heard as he felt a fist striking his chest, sending him tumbling backwards.

As his back hit the ground, his vision went black. Consciousness had left his body.

Beside Guile's comatose body, Pip's eyes widened in horror. Trembling, he turned to Chisiki and asked, "Why did y-you b-b-beat him?"

Chisiki chuckled. "You want to end up like him?"

Without hesitating, Pip turned around and scurried. As he ran away, he shouted, "No!"

"Don't worry, little one. You can run away for now because I have another plan," Chisiki said loudly.

Pip did not care about Chisiki words. He ran past a few trees, before hiding behind a huge knobby root.

Suddenly, he heard a booming voice of a man saying: "Haha, I'll soon complete my program and eliminate all of you! You will all suffer! Yes, S-U-F-F-E-R!"

Pip gulped. Holding the crest of the root, he pulled himself up to see what was happening.

Further in front of him, Chisiki was holding Guile's silver staff with his right hand.

"I'll take this staff with me. I'm sure that you're much weaker without it." Chisiki turned and walked away. "Goodbye for now! By the way, tell your yellow dragon friend that he'll be dead too once my program is done!"

 _Meanie!_ Pip let go of the root and fell to the ground. He sat on the grassy floor for a moment, hoping that Chisiki would disappear from this place soon.

After waiting for a few minutes, Pip stood up. He walked out of the root and glared expectantly. There was nobody other than Guile, who was still unconscious.

Pip skipped towards Guile quickly. When he was already beside the magician, he shouted, "Guile! Wake up!"

No answer.

Patting Guile's forehead, Pip called out, "Wake up! You're okay, right?"

Guile grunted as he furrowed his brow.

Pip repeatedly shouted "Yay!" as he bounced around the grassy soil.

But suddenly, Guile rose to sitting position and curled his fingers into fists.

Pip jumped back. "W-what are you doing?"

Roaring, Guile opened his eyes and pounded the ground with his hands. As the fists came in contact with the earth, a large column of stones and dirt burst skyward.

"The next time I see you, I will not hesitate to burn you to ashes, Chisiki!" Guile stood up, cracking his fists as pebbles and soil rained down upon him. "You have to know that I hold back because you ARE a human from the real world!"

Pip took a few steps back, sweating excessively albeit shivering. Guile's unusual outburst sent chills travelling down his spine.

As he walked backwards, he tripped and fell down. Somehow the soft thud startled Guile, who turned and glared at him.

"No! Don't hurt me!" Pip shrieked, raising both of his paws to cover his face.

"Hurt you?" Guile blinked. "Why would I?"

"Eh?" Pip lowered his hands.

Guile walked towards Pip, looking at the little squirrel with a pair of concerned eyes. "I am sorry, but did I scare you?"

"Uh, yeah," Pip answered silently.

"Please do not be afraid of me," Guile said, bending over as he picked Pip up with his grubby hands. "I have a reason why I will not attack you."

"Really?" Pip questioned, his eyes widening in excitement.

Guile smiled and nodded. "Although sometimes your curiosity goes too far, you are kind to me. That is why I will never hurt you."

Pip threw his paws to the air and cheered. However, he suddenly asked, "But what about that girl?"

"Yoshino?" Guile sighed. "I cannot do that. There were times she was kind to me."

Pip blinked. "But she was very mean earlier…"

"Confusing, is it not?" Guile inquired, smiling.

Pip nodded.

Guile hunched and released Pip from his grasp. "Actually, I am not feeling very well…" Turning around, he continued, "I shall be resting until I feel better."

He walked away to a shady tree, leaving Pip behind.

"Can I follow you?" Pip asked. "I'm tired too!"

"Go ahead." was what Guile replied as he stopped in front of a tree and lay down under it.

ooo

The sun was no longer at its peak. It was lowering beyond the horizon slightly.

Wind was blowing around Shinjuku Residential Area, sending specks of dust flying everywhere. At this moment, most people were driving along the streets to go home, while only a few were walking on the pavement.

Ari was one of those who walked, with a schoolbag on his back.

Strolling along the walkway, Ari wondered if it were okay leaving Draggy alone at Shinjuku Park. The dragon was still new to this world, and might cause troubles if he woke up…

 _Ah, forget about it!_ Ari shook his head. _I just worry too much. I'm sure that Draggy can take good care of himself._

After walking for three minutes, Ari could finally see the Yamamoto shop on his right side. He turned and headed towards the glass doors of the building.

Entering the mart, Ari looked to the left and flashed Toshio a smile, who was sitting still at the counter.

"What took you so long, Ari?" Toshio asked.

"I went to Shinjuku Park with a friend earlier." Ari said, walking towards the staircase further in front of him.

"How about the cardboard?" Toshio questioned.

"I've dumped it," Ari replied calmly.

Toshio chuckled. "You don't like our shop house getting dirty, huh?"

"Yeah," Ari answered as he landed a step on the staircase. "See you later, Dad! I'm going up now!"

As Ari walked up the stairs, he giggled. He was lucky to have met Chikara. Without him, Ari would never have thought of leaving Draggy at Shinjuku Park. As a result, trouble would come for sure.

After about two minutes of stair-climbing, Ari reached the top. There, he saw the TV on the table further in front of him was on. But nothing was interesting because the scenes on the screen were changing from one to another.

Suddenly, Ari heard a woman's voice asking: "Ari, where have you been? I heard that there was a monster at school!"

Ari quickly turned to see Michiko sitting on a chair with a remote control in her hand. "Ah, that's not a big problem, Mom. We were allowed to go home sooner, but then I met Chikara Jikan from 6A-"

Michiko stood up and interrupted cheerfully, "You get to know a student from 6A? That's really good! He can teach you many things."

"Well, actually we went to Shinjuku Park-"

Michiko interjected again, "Hey, that place is far from here, and it costs two hundred yen per person!"

"But I learn so much from him!" Ari said as he smirked. True, he learned something, but the topic was not related to school subjects!

"Oh, that sounds good!" Michiko said. "Anyway, don't you have any homework?"

"Uh, I'll be working on my essay now," Ari replied, before turning away and walking towards the wooden door beside the desk where the TV was.

ooo

Chisiki pushed the iron double door in front of him. With a sound of scraping between steel and ceramic, the door opened and revealed the dark blue shades within.

As he stepped into the room, he came across Ami, whose eyes were widening as they were locked on his injured arm.

"Mr. Chisiki! What happened to your arm?" Ami asked, panicked. "You stole this rod and got hurt?"

Chisiki sneered. "Sort of. I stole it from a Foreign Being."

"Mr. Chisiki, you said that Foreign Beings could wreak havoc, and you still attacked them?" Ami inquired, glaring sternly at Chisiki.

"The one I attacked was a mage-type being, so it wasn't a big problem," Chisiki answered as an evil grin suddenly appeared on his face. "Wizards always do poorly in close combat."

"Please, Mr. Chisiki, it's never right to underestimate someone!" Ami scolded. "Things would be different if that mage blasted you with magic!"

Chisiki burst into a series of maniacal laughter. "I knocked him out before he could do that. And now, without this rod, he's much weaker!"

A pause.

Chisiki then continued, "By the way, what should I do with this thing?"

Ami stroked her chin. "Do a research on it? Who knows that it can help us stopping the Foreign Being?"

"Good idea!" Chisiki snapped his fingers. "Okay, I'll soon tell the boss to help us with the fund so that I can hire scientists for this job. Gonna hire a lot of them, because I want these aliens die sooner."

ooo

Night had fallen. Stars were accompanying a crescent moon to illuminate the indigo sky and the area below.

But a villa beneath them did not seem to need their light. Most of the windows of the cottage were emitting yellowish white radiance.

Inside the villa, Yoshino was in her light blue pajamas. She was sitting on the wooden floor with a plastic box and its lid beside her. In front of her, a few banknotes and coins were resting neatly like a bamboo fan.

_Eight hundred eighty yen… Is this all?_

Smacking the floor with her right hand, Yoshino bowed her head. "Now, I still can't afford a Glenn board with my savings!"

Dragging the lidless plastic box, she sighed. She had been saving money for almost a year so that she could purchase a Glenn board. However, by the time she was at the shop, she changed her mind. Instead of buying a Glenn board, she bought a Guile board.

_Whenever I see Guile's picture, it just reminds me of Daddy… He often says something about 'a masked magician with long lavender hair'. And Guile just resembles that._

Yoshino sighed again. It was likely that her father was not referring to Guile with that 'masked magician with long lavender hair', as she knew that he never played Chrono Cross when he was still alive. But how could he speak out a term that suited Guile to a T?

_Forget about it! Guile isn't the only masked magician with long lavender hair! Dad must be referring to someone else._

Yoshino grabbed the banknotes and coins slowly, and placed them inside the box. When she was done with that, she took the lid beside her and covered the moneybox with it.

Lifting the plastic box, Yoshino raised her head and stood up. She walked ahead, passing a futon and heading towards a mahogany desk. There, she opened a drawer and put the plastic box in it.

After slamming the drawer shut, she scampered towards a set of white switches beside a wooden door. She pushed them, and the hanging lamps on the ceilings were off.

Suddenly, she heard several knocks on the door.

"Come in," Yoshino said.

The door opened slowly as Nana Hida, a grey-haired woman in a brown dress, stepped in.

With a smile on her wrinkled face, she asked, "Sleeping so soon, sonny?"

Yoshino nodded.

"Well, guess you'll need more energy for tomorrow! Still remember about the promise you made yesterday?" Nana asked.

"I forgot, grandma," Yoshino simply replied.

"Oh, no, you mustn't!" Nana chuckled. "We're cleaning up our old storeroom together tomorrow, right? Dust and cobweb are covering all over your daddy's PS console and figurines of Chinese martial artists!"

 _PS console? Chrono Cross is a game in PS… Oh, no, no, please no!_ Yoshino took a few steps back, her eyes widening. So far, she had only played Chrono Cross in a PS emulator, not in the real PS as she did not have it.

"Hmm? You don't look happy, sonny," Nana said, snapping Yoshino out of her thoughts. "You don't want to help me tidying up?"

With a bead of sweat trickling down her temple, Yoshino stammered, "It's not t-that… I'm j-just t-tired right now. I'll help after school tomorrow."

"Oh, I see." Nana walked backwards and grabbed the doorknob. "Okay, see you tomorrow then!" With that, she pulled the door shut.

Yoshino walked towards her futon. Hunching, she pulled the blanket before lying down on the surface of the flat bed.

Staring at the ceiling, she remained silent. She had ever visited that old warehouse a few times, but had never checked the storeroom carefully. As a result, she had never known that her father owned a PS console. Now, she suspected that her father played Chrono Cross, and if this were true, then that masked magician should be Guile.

"I don't feel well." Yoshino pulled her blanket, bringing it covering up to her neck. "Daddy… If that's true, I…" Tears were overflowing in her eyes. "I betrayed Dad… He must be hoping that I'll treat Guile well."

Sobbing, she recalled all the moments she treated Guile badly. Sure, she often snapped at him for nearly losing a fight, but he never argued with her. It was also common that she forced him to continue fighting despite his injuries, and he always agreed.

The only exception was the last few fights, in which Guile was rebelling against her. He argued back when she scolded him. He disobeyed her order and refused to finish Draggy off. He even did not want to kill Starky, although Yoshino wanted him to.

_It's my fault. I'm such a selfish girl!_

Yoshino closed her eyes, sending tears running down her cheeks. She wished to sleep for now, so that she could concentrate better on her next plan: apologizing to Guile.

_I hope that Guile will forgive me. I'm sure that befriending him is what my dad wants._

She slept, and as her breathing became steadier, an image grew clearer in her mind.

ooo

_Yoshino was sitting at a mahogany desk. On its top, there were a monitor, a keyboard, and a mouse. Beside the desk, a large stool stood with a printer and a little black box-like object above it. On the other side, there was a small table with a CPU and a set of loudspeakers on its flat surface._

_Yoshino mashed the keys of the keyboard furiously, creating loud clicks as she did. She had just returned victorious from the Battle Board Tournament, and she would like to hold her triumph for a long time. With that in mind, she was searching for strategies for the Battle Board._

_However, her computer seemed to be opposing her. Even after several attempts to access a search engine, a big 'Server Not Found' kept appearing on the screen, accompanied by a yellow triangle with an exclamation mark in it._

_"Damn it! I need a new modem soon!" Yoshino kicked the foot of the desk, shaking everything atop it lightly._

_She moved the pointer to the address bar and blocked the text on it. After that, she pushed the enter button on the keyboard. While waiting, she tapped her foot against the floor beneath the desk. Soon, the page flickered, and what then appeared was the same 'Server Not Found'._

_"Crap!" Yoshino slammed her fists into the desk. "I'll check what the hell is happening to the connection!"_

_She stood up, pushed the chair aside abruptly, and turned her attention to the stool where the printer was. "Stupid modem!"_

_Yoshino walked towards the stool before kneeling down. She grabbed the black box-like object with her right hand, but as she lifted it, she saw an iridescent chip resting right beside the printer._

_"A Chrono Cross element?" Yoshino picked the chip up with her free hand._

_She did not really know what to do with the rainbow chip, but it just looked fitting to the element slots of her Guile board._

_After putting down the modem, Yoshino turned away. She walked towards her futon, where a black board was lying on._

_"I guess I'll place it in one of the slots."_

_Upon saying that, Yoshino sat on the floor inserted the chip into one of the slots of the board. As she did, a loud piping sound echoed in her ears. She cupped her ears with both of her hands, but the noise was still very clear. It was like there was an eagle nearby._

_"What's the happening?" Yoshino's eyes suddenly widened as the Chrono Cross element exploded and unleashed arrows of black flame._

_The jets flew in crisscrossing manner at frightening speed before encircling the entire board, turning it into a pile of blazing black yarn. Oddly, the flame did not burn the fabrics of the futon, nor did it release heat._

_A few seconds later, the ear-piercing sound faded. Yoshino released her ears. Remaining still like a statue, she witnessed something odd happening. The burning board shrank into the size of a remote control, and soon, the flame died out. What was left was a dark blue device with a blank screen on one side and a long slim slot on its other side._

_Yoshino took the gadget and brought it closer to her face. "What is this thing? What happened to my Guile board?"_

_Beep!_

_A red arrow pointing to the west appeared on the monitor of the gadget. Curious, Yoshino turned her head and looked at the window there. The glass itself was seemingly steamy, which was much to Yoshino's confusion. Perhaps something was happening outside?_

_With the gadget still in her hand, Yoshino got up fast and headed towards the door. She walked out of her room and scampered across the silent living room to a sliding door. Fortunately at this moment, her mom and grandma were not around. Otherwise, they might stop her from going out of the house._

_As she pushed the door to the side, she could see nothing but shades of grey and white outside. It was foggy, but being very curious, Yoshino decided to go out._

_Apparently, the fog was not as thick as it seemed. It only took a few seconds for Yoshino to walk through the mist and reach a clear area. There, a man adorned in white clothing was standing in front of a tree, leaning against the tree trunk with his eyes closed and arms crossed. His lavender hair was long and braided. The upper part of his face was hidden behind a golden mask._

_"Guile…?" Yoshino wondered out loud._

_The man opened his eyes and looked at Yoshino. "Yes, who might you be?"_

_"I'm Yoshino. How can you be here?" Yoshino asked._

_Guile stroked his chin. "I followed an enigmatic signal."_

_Blinking, Yoshino questioned, "Signal?"_

_Guile, who was now standing in a more upright position, nodded. He walked towards Yoshino and looked at the dark blue gadget. "This device called me."_

_Yoshino let out a 'huh'._

_"You had the legendary Chrono Cross with you, did you not?" Guile asked._

_"What? No way! What does that element have in common with this?!" Yoshino screamed._

_"When you place that element in a medium related to a certain person, you will receive a gadget which will call that person," Guile calmly answered._

_"What the… Damn it!" Yoshino gripped her gadget so tightly that her hand ached. If she were to 'call' a character, she would rather call someone other than Guile. For her, the masked magician was nothing special._

_But as she thought about that, an image of her father flashed in her mind. At the same time too, she could hear a familiar voice of a man reciting to her: "Okay, Daddy will tell you a story! Once upon a time, there lived a man. The man had long, braided lavender hair. Also, he always wore a golden domino mask."_

_"Daddy…" she muttered, turning around._

_Yoshino hated the fact that she ended up with Guile, but she doubted that it was right to leave him immediately. If she did, she would indirectly betray her father, although her dad might not be referring to Guile in his own bedtime story for Yoshino._

_"Fine," Yoshino said under her breath. Turning to Guile, she inquired, "Why are you here then?"_

_A pause._

_"I only wish to be more powerful," Guile replied. "If you can grant my wish, I shall do everything you order."_

_"What the hell are you talking about? How can I do that?" Yoshino yelled, jumping and landing abruptly on the grassy floor. She clearly did not know what to do to make Guile stronger. "I'm not a-" All of a sudden, her frown turned into an evil smile. She had thought of an idea._

_"Hmm?" Guile muttered._

_"Okay, I'll do my best," Yoshino said. "But I want you to do me a favor too. Recently, there's something called Battle Board Tournament, a battle game using a character board. I won the previous tourney with your board, and now I want to hold my victory."_

_"My board?"_

_Yoshino chuckled. "I chose you as my character, and I won."_

_"Your achievement gives me hope." Guile smiled. "I am certain that you can help me."_

_"It's too early to be happy." Yoshino raised a finger. "If I don't invent new strategies, I can't win anymore."_

_Guile's smile vanished from his face. "So?"_

_Pointing at Guile, Yoshino said, "I want you to fight for me when I tell you to. That way, I can learn new tricks."_

_"That is what you wish from me?" Guile questioned. "I have no problem with that as long as you can grant my wish."_

_Yoshino nodded and spoke confidently, "Don't worry. I promise to work hard and do my best." But in her mind, she would never keep that promise. She had no knowledge of what that could give Guile more power. Besides, Guile was a pathetic character, and empowering him would just be a waste of time._

ooo

Yoshino regained her consciousness. However, she refused to open her eyes as it might make her harder to sleep later.

She was about to fall into slumber again, but she was actively thinking. Would it be a good idea to find Guile and apologize to him tomorrow? Would he forgive her, or perhaps, he needed more time to think about it?

A 'humph' escaped from Yoshino's lips. She cared less about those questions for now. Tomorrow, she _would_ find Guile and try reasoning with him. Perhaps he would not forgive her, but she would never know the outcome unless she tried.

ooo


	7. A Question of Trust

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Skelly emerged at Shinjuku Park, and caused a lot of troubles in the real world.

Draggy woke up. As he opened his eyes, he saw nothing but concrete wall with shades of orange. He did not know what time it was now, but he did feel that he had slept so nicely.

Rising to sitting position, Draggy stretched his back and brought about an audible crack. Stretching was nice, especially after sleeping for quite a long time.

"Draggy has slept enough…" Draggy stood up. "Ari?"

No answer.

"Where's Ari?"

Draggy hunched and brought his snout touching the ground. He walked in circles whilst sniffing. He hoped that he could track Ari down, but he had no clue about it. The smooth stone floor smelled much different from a human boy. Instead of the salty odor of sweat, it only emitted the stench of cement.

Draggy stopped walking and raised his head. He sniffed the air, but nothing smelled like human. The only available scents were stone, iron, and a mixture of something salty, sweet, sour, and bitter…

But wait! Stones and cement created the wall of the shack, and the door consisted of iron bars. What about the other combined scents? Draggy just smelled like that, and it could be his friends!

"Everybody is around!" Draggy ran towards the fence-like iron door and jumped over it. Sure, getting out of the shed was a daring thing to do, but being alone was not fun for Draggy at all.

Airborne, he spread and flapped his wings, ready to look for his friends. Although Ari was seemingly absent from the group, Draggy could at least, play with the others.

ooo

Guile was still sleeping on the grassy floor, oblivious to his surroundings. Even with the blades of grass scraping against his body, he could still sleep so soundly. Why not? Since the day he emerged at the yard of Yoshino's villa, he had never had a comfortable slumber. It was not that he had to sleep outside, but the fact that he could rest only for a few hours bothered him.

But that was not the worst of all. If Guile overslept, Yoshino would scream directly into his ears to wake him up. However, that sometimes failed, and a pail of cold water to the face would introduce the morning to him.

_"Hey, mister!"_

Guile was still asleep, although the childlike voice was so loud that it managed to drive him into a lighter sleeping state.

_"Wake up, mister!"_

For Guile, the repeated shout was just as irritating as an alarm clock ringing early in the morning.

_"Wake up!"_

Guile raised his right hand and smacked whatever that created the noise. But as he did, he felt a brief, sharp pain jolting from his hand.

Snapping his eyes open, Guile glanced at his right side. Draggy was standing there, smiling.

"Draggy?" Guile asked, waggling his right hand.

Draggy nodded.

Guile let out a 'humph' and bellowed, "You were no different from Yoshino."

"Eh?" Draggy blinked. "What did Draggy do wrong?"

Guile gasped as Draggy asked such question. It sounded as if the dragon were still unable to differ between what was right or wrong.

A 'sorry' was Guile's only answer as he stood up and looked away.

"Mister, is biting someone wrong?" Draggy asked from behind.

Guile turned to Draggy, who was looking at him with head tilting to the side. "It is, if you do not have the right reason for that."

"Really? Draggy bit mister's hand because mister hit Draggy's face," Draggy replied.

"Either way, I have to apologize for my outburst," Guile said, his head bowing down a bit.

"Why?"

"I am not good at controlling my temper, do you not think so?"

"Draggy doesn't understand…"

"I am easily enraged. Small problems often infuriate me to an unreasonable extent."

"Not really! Draggy thinks that girl makes mister get angry so easily!"

Guile raised his head. "Perhaps you are right."

Draggy smiled, head tilting to the side. "Draggy just thinks that mister-"

Guile immediately interrupted, "Just call me Guile."

"Um, yeah, Guile." Draggy rubbed the back of his neck and chuckled. "Draggy just thinks that Guile is grumpy because of that girl, not mean or such."

Guile nodded and laughed softly. "Just grumpy, huh?" He was glad that there was someone who would comfort him.

All of a sudden, a cheerful childlike voice shouted from behind, "You're awake!"

Guile turned back to see Pip hopping towards him. "Where have you gone?"

Pip stopped on his tracks and said, "You snored so loudly… I went somewhere else to sleep."

Guile chuckled as the cheeks below his golden mask reddened. "Excuse me for my bad habit."

Everybody burst out laughing upon hearing Guile's statement. But soon, the laughter faded as a fog bank surrounded the area.

"Somebody is coming!" Pip called out.

For Guile, it could be a dangerous thing. Instinctively, he inserted his right hand into his left sleeve, but… "Where is my rod?"

"That evil guy earlier took it away. He said that you were weak without it," Pip answered.

"No, that is untrue." Guile shook his head and sighed. "That rod only enables me to fight better at close combat."

Suddenly, a circle of light appeared on the ground in front of them. A skinny shadow jumped out of it, shouting 'nyak-nyak-nyak' as it curled into a ball and rolled in the air.

Guile's eyes widened as he realized what it was. A skeleton in a purple pointy hat and other clown-like attire was none other but Skelly. He himself had heard several issues about the skeleton clown; most importantly, about how he died.

"Draggy, you must be careful with him!" Guile warned. He knew that it was a dragon that looked like Draggy who killed Skelly, and it was likely that the skeletal clown would like to revenge.

Skelly landed on the ground with both of his skeletal feet. "Good morning." Skelly clapped his hands rapidly. "Skelly the clown will show you something!"

"Wow, a clown!" Draggy and Pip exclaimed in unison, running towards Skelly.

"Draggy, back!" Guile shouted.

Skelly brought his hands clasping together, before pulling them back. Now, a solid ball of steel was visible on each of his hands.

"Nyak-nyak-nyak!" Skelly tossed the balls at Guile.

Guile ducked and dodged the attack. "Skelly, tell me. What is your reason to do this?"

Skelly bounced from side to side and giggled. "It's none of your business."

"But mister clown, there's no need to attack Guile, right?" Pip asked, placing a paw on his chin.

"Okay, I'll tell you why I attack." Skelly halted, before hunching to pick Pip up with both of his hands. "I don't like someone meddling with my plan!" He grabbed Pip's tail with his left hand and spun around.

"Pip!" Guile screamed.

Skelly stopped abruptly and threw Pip away to a tree. After hitting a sturdy branch headfirst, Pip fell into the ground like a falling feather. He remained motionless with a bruise on his head.

Seeing Pip's condition, Guile growled. He hated to see a child getting hurt. Unfortunately, this happened right in front of his eyes. And worse, it was _his friend_ who suffered such thing.

"Why you…" Guile clenched his hands, bringing his fingernails biting into his own flesh. "Pip did nothing wrong to you!" he thundered, before jumping to the air and gliding towards Skelly. "Arrrrrgh!" He spun and kicked, bringing about a loud snap as his foot met Skelly's cheek.

"Nyak-nyak-nyak!" was what Skelly uttered as his head flew to the air and fell to the ground with a thud.

As the skull remained immobile on the ground, Skelly's skeletal body slumped. It seemed to be over… Wrong! Skelly's head suddenly bounced towards the skeleton. With a crack, the skull reattached itself to the other bones again.

"Surprising, no?" Skelly asked, standing up. "If you separate any of my bones from my skeleton, I can just reattach them."

Guile gritted his teeth. This was now serious.

Unbuttoning his garment, he roared, "If that is true, then I will destroy you to the point you cannot reattach your bones!"

He then threw his coat away, baring the ripped physique that he had always hidden under his garment. One would think he was a health-conscious individual due to his broad and perky chest, complete with a narrow waist and a flat, yet toned abdomen.

Hands clenched, he squatted a bit and pulled back his fists. Arches of purple electricity crackled and flowed from Guile's feet to his head quickly.

"Heh, do you think you can do it?" Skelly waved both of his hands rapidly.

All of a sudden, a swirling portal of purple light opened in front of Skelly.

"Nyak-nyak-nyak, take this!" Skelly leapt and pounded the ground with his hands.

Thousands of small solid orbs came out of the portal and stormed towards Guile. They pummeled him endlessly, bringing about a painful scream as each of them hit his defenseless body before vanishing.

After a few seconds of beating, it was getting too painful for Guile to cast his spell. Everything around him was twirling. He could also taste something like rusty iron in his mouth. He was sure that if this 'storm' did not stop, he would soon faint.

Suddenly, Draggy shouted, "Stop it!"

"Hmm?" Skelly snapped his fingers. The portal shrank into nothingness, and the storm of balls stopped. "Oh, yeah, I forgot about you. But first…" Skelly turned his attention to Guile.

Guile, with numerous pains stinging his entire body, stood limply and panted. It was too painful for him to move even a single finger.

"I guess I'll get rid of you first." Skelly dashed and rammed a fist on Guile's gut.

On impact, Guile groaned and winced as he tumbled backwards.

Seeing this, Skelly raised his right leg and…

CRACK!

The powerful stomp to the left rib cage forced Guile to scream and regurgitate blood.

Looking at Guile lying on the ground gasping for breath with his eyes closed, Skelly said, "Til we meet again!" He then walked away.

With blood trickling from his lips and stabbing pain jolting from his chest, Guile muttered, "Draggy… Please be careful…" Upon saying that, he could no longer feel anything. He had lost his consciousness.

"You're mean!" Draggy screamed, staggering backwards.

"Heh, that's because he's meddling with me… I've said that I hate it when someone intervenes!" Skelly said. "But don't worry, let's just forget about this and have fun, okay?"

"Fun…?" Draggy blinked.

A mischievous grin found its way to Skelly's face. It seemed to be easy to fool Draggy. "Yeah! You wanna eat and play?"

"Draggy wants to, but…" Draggy looked at Guile, who was seemingly dead.

"Forget about him. You can't have fun if you keep worrying about him," Skelly replied.

"Really?" Draggy asked.

Skelly nodded rapidly and uttered out 'yeah' several times.

"Um, okay…" Draggy said, walking towards Skelly.

Skelly chuckled. He had a plan to make Draggy's life a living hell.

_Too bad that your mad mom is dead. I'll just mess around with you then._

As they walked away, the mist surrounding the forest vanished.

ooo

It was ten minutes away from eight in the morning now.

With a schoolbag on his back, Ari walked into his classroom slowly. Why not? It was still quite a long time before the class started.

Inside, the students had almost filled the entire class. Most of them were running around, but there were some sitting at the fiberglass desks. However, what drew Ari's attention were the two boys who were sitting at a desk further in front of him. He recognized both of them. The boy who was wearing all black was Akira Hayabusa, while the other one in dark blue t-shirt and jeans was Kotaro Kuwabara. The two had a Battle Board in front of each other.

After placing his bag on the table closest to the door and the wall, Ari walked towards the two boys.

"Yo! Ari!" Akira waved a hand. "You wanna help Kotaro?"

"Why?" Ari scratched his head.

Kotaro turned to Ari. "Ehm, I'm losing…"

Ari looked at the boards on the table. Near Kotaro's current position, there was a blue board with a picture of a swordsman in a blue outfit. He was holding a rose with a hand.

"Wow, Kotaro! You choose Pierre? Never thought of it!" Ari commented.

"Heh, he's a hero wannabe, and I like him!" Kotaro laughed. "He doesn't seem to have the skill, but I always appreciate that kind of spirit!" He then waved his left hand, which had only four fingers. It actually had five, but the middle and ring fingers seemed to be one with a thin membrane between them.

Ari nodded. He clearly understood why Kotaro said that. Kotaro, despite having one defective hand, always tried his best to keep up with the others. Even though computer and sport lessons often needed all the ten fingers in one's hands, he never complained about the difficulty. His marks for the two subjects were often below average, but he was never upset about it.

"Actually, I don't bring my Draggy board…" Ari replied. But soon, he bowed down. He did not know what to say. If he spoke the truth about Draggy, could he trust his friends to keep it as a secret?

Akira stood up. "Ari, I've actually heard about that board from some guys in the canteen. It's sad; I know that, buddy. But you can still buy another one, right?"

"If I were you, I'd not say that!" a girl's voice came from behind Akira.

Ari's, Akira's, and Kotaro's attention was now at a short girl with a black ponytail. In unison, they uttered, "Yukari?"

"There is always something good behind something bad." Yukari smiled.

"Um, uh…" Ari mumbled momentarily. Yukari was almost like a psychic. For sure, Ari was happy to have Draggy coming to life, and he actually did not really care about the board anymore.

Feeling that his friends were probably trustworthy, Ari asked, "Um, three of you… Can you keep this as a secret?"

"What secret?" Akira asked.

Without saying anything, Ari crept closer towards the three other students.

"Well, you can trust us. Don't worry," Akira assured.

"Actually, since that incident, the real Draggy appeared and became my friend," Ari said, his voice as silent as that of a mouse.

"Really? Wow, I get to see the real Dra-" Akira shouted, but soon, a palm met his mouth.

With his right hand resting in Akira's mouth, Kotaro said, "Keep your mouth shut, Akira! You don't want to make Ari sad, right?"

"Um, it's actually my secret. I haven't even told my parents about this," Ari continued.

"Oh… Ari, that sounds good! Can you show him to us?" Yukari asked.

"Well, if you can promise not to talk about this in public, I won't mind taking you to Draggy's hideout," Ari answered.

"When are you doing that then?" Kotaro questioned, his hand was still covering Akira's mouth.

"I'm planning to visit Draggy after class," Ari whispered. "You can just follow me, and I hope that each of you brings at least two hundred yen."

Yukari took out a leather wallet from the pocket of her dress. After shuffling everything in it, she asked, "Well, I bring about eight hundred yen today… But why do we need that?"

"He's at Shinjuku Park," Ari simply said.

"Oh, so that's why!" Kotaro responded in excitement. "Well, I always bring about five hundred yen every day, so the entry fee isn't a big deal."

Unfortunately for Akira, he could not say anything as Kotaro's hand was still on his mouth. The only thing he could do was letting out some incomprehensible mumbles.

All of a sudden, a bass noise of a horn echoed. The class was about to start.

"Yikes! It's starting!" As soon as Kotaro let go of Akira, he picked up his Pierre board and stood up. "Bye!" He walked away to his seat, which was right behind Akira.

"Aw, geez, Kotaro! You made me breathless earlier!" Akira grabbed his Leah board and hid it in the hollow space below his desk.

Ari smiled, before turning around and walking towards his seat. There, he unzipped his bag and took out a piece of paper. He had completed his essay.

Soon, a woman walked into the room with some books in both of her hands. Before heading to her own desk, she stopped and looked at Ari.

"Miss Satoko, can I submit my work now?" Ari asked.

"Oh, no need!" Satoko chuckled. "Just keep it with you."

Ari raised an eyebrow. "Eh?"

"Honestly, I just want you to learn more about attitude. For me, attitude comes first," Satoko whispered, before walking to her desk.

Ari's mouth was wide open. It was tiring to complete the essay, and Satoko did not even care about it.

Soon, Satoko had no more books in her hands. She was now standing in the middle of the class.

"Okay, now you all sit down!" Satoko commanded. "I have something important to tell you."

Ari smiled. The teacher might want to give a long speech about attitude…

Now, the class was silent. All the students had taken their seats and were looking at Satoko.

"Well, it's just a notice for everybody, but after school, go home at once," Satoko said.

All the students let out a 'huh', before chatting with each other. Slowly, the atmosphere of the class became like that of a market.

"Silence!" Satoko smacked the whiteboard, bringing about a bang. "This is important for your safety!"

Within a split second, the class was silent again.

"Since the monster incident at school, Shinjuku is not as safe as we think," Satoko continued.

Ari gasped. He suspected that Draggy had made a mess at Shinjuku. Why not? He left Draggy alone at Shinjuku Park yesterday, and it was more than possible that the dragon would cause some troubles.

"This morning, I heard that someone broke into a butcher near Shinjuku Park," Satoko said. "The investigation team said that some slabs of meat were missing."

_Oh, no…_

Ari was sure that it was Draggy. A dragon of course, loved meat.

"Anyway, that's just some information for you. Now, let's start our lesson… Oh, I have another announcement!" Satoko added.

Ari held his head with both of his hands. He no longer had the spirit to listen to what his teacher was about to say.

"The principal has organized an outdoor trip. This Monday, we will be heading to Yoyogi Park along with 6A and 6B," Satoko said. "Isn't that nice?"

At this, all the students shouted 'yay'. Some of them clapped their hands, while most began chatting with the others. However, only Ari was the exception. He remained still on his seat, looking at the surface of the fiberglass desk with teary eyes.

The only thing he could do now was waiting until the class ended. Then, he could see Draggy and clarify whether the dragon was involved in that incident or not.

ooo

Meanwhile, inside the forest of Shinjuku Park, Pip opened his eyes. Placing a paw on his head, he got up.

"It hurts!" Pip cried out as the throbbing pain on his head stung like hell. But that was not the worst of all…

Guile's body was lying on the ground further in front of Pip, immobile.

Immediately, Pip skipped towards Guile, but abruptly stopped on his tracks. His eyes widened in horror as he saw the bruises on Guile's body. Furthermore, he felt heavy on his stomach as he noticed the dried blood on Guile's lips and chin.

Pip gulped and took a few steps backwards. How could someone have the heart to beat someone up and leave him for dead?

Shuddering, Pip turned around. Looking for help was probably the only way to save Guile. Only if he knew who could help of course…

ooo

Draggy and Skelly were sitting on the stone staircase that led to a shed.

"Nyak-nyak-nyak, I had so much fun!" Skelly said, throwing the last small bit of a ham into his mouth.

Draggy's wing-like ears wilted as he watched Skelly chewing the meat slowly. Skelly had eaten everything they had stolen from a nearby butcher, and Draggy had not had the chance to eat. Skelly kept telling him to wait until he ate enough, but even until everything was finished, the skeleton clown did not say anything about Draggy's part.

Skelly swallowed, sending a small pile of crushed meat travelling down to the area within his rib cage. Soon, the minute mass disintegrated into a small mound of shiny molecules, and merged with Skelly's ribs.

"Sorry, it's all out!" Skelly lifted his hands, bringing the palms facing the sky.

"But you promised to share some!" Draggy screamed as his ears rose and tensed.

"A lesson for you: never trust other people!" Skelly stood up and ran away. "Bye-bye, nyak-nyak-nyak!"

"Come back!" Draggy yelled as loud as he could, but there was no response. Skelly had jumped over the hedge further in front of him and disappeared.

Getting up, Draggy sighed. He was sure that he could not catch an agile clown like Skelly. He would just let it go, return to his shed, and sleep… But he decided against it when he heard a childlike voice calling out 'help'. Immediately, he turned to the source of the voice and ran towards it. As he did, he met Pip, who was skipping towards him.

"Pip?" Draggy asked.

Pip stopped running and began hopping repeatedly. "Guile is badly hurt!"

Draggy's eyes widened. "Draggy almost forgets that! Where's Guile?"

Pip turned around and galloped away. "Follow me!"

Draggy ran all his way, tailing Pip into a wide opening between the bushes. After a few minutes of running, the two critters arrived on the spot where Guile's body was.

"There he is!" Pip turned to Draggy whilst pointing at Guile. "Can you help him?"

"Um…" Draggy placed a paw on his scaly chin. He wanted to help Guile, but he did not know what to do. He was just a young dragon, and needless to say, he had no knowledge about first aid and healing.

"Please?" Pip asked, looking at Draggy with teary eyes.

Draggy looked around, trying to find a solution. However, the only thing he came across was Guile's coat lying on the ground beside his battered body.

Draggy walked towards the garment, picked the robe up with his paw, and covered Guile's unconscious body with it. That might not do anything good, but Draggy thought that his coat would act as a blanket. And Guile might rest better until help came.

"Draggy hopes that Guile feels better with this…" Draggy said. "What if we just stay with Guile until Ari is here?"

"Oh!" Pip clapped his hands. "That sounds good!"

Draggy raised his head and smiled. That was the best idea he could think of.

ooo

The sun was now at its peak, brightening the surroundings. Cars and motorcycles were speeding along the road around the towering Tokyo Metropolitan Building as people were rushing for lunch. But soon, vehicles filled the entire streets and caused a traffic jam.

On the pavement across the twin-towered skyscraper, with their schoolbags hanging on their backs, Ari, Yukari, Akira, and Kotaro got off a yellow taxi. As they did, they could hear people honking their horns and screaming. Also, the stench of the exhaust gas from the vehicles entered their nostrils and stung them from the nose.

"Let's get into the park fast!" Ari screamed, cupping both of his ears with his hands. His nose was scratchy, but with only two hands, he could not do anything to stop it…unless he was willing to hear the noises from the busy streets.

"Okay, let's go!" was what Akira, Kotaro, and Yukari shouted out.

Together, the foursome walked towards a small stand beside the entrance of Shinjuku Park.

"Huh? Where's the ticket seller?" Ari asked, eyes widening as he looked at the empty wooden chair and counter.

Akira snickered. "Maybe the weird incidents around have scared her."

Ari gasped at Akira's remark. He turned around and walked. "Something bad may have happened! Let's enter the park now!"

Without answering, Akira, Yukari, and Kotaro followed Ari.

Soon, it had been five minutes since the foursome entered the park. They were now strolling along the stone path surrounded by trees and hedges. All of a sudden, everybody paused as there was something peculiar amidst the bushes on the left side; a wide opening that was very familiar to Ari.

"Whoa! I've never seen such thing!" Akira said, pointing at the aperture between the shrubberies.

"Yeah, but Draggy is not in here," Ari simply replied.

"Who created this?" Kotaro asked.

"Guile did it. I'm not quite sure about this though," Ari answered.

"What? You said Guile?" Yukari questioned, her eyes widening in excitement. "He is here too?"

Ari nodded slightly. "Um, but I'm not sure if he's still inside the forest…"

"I want to see him!" Yukari squealed gleefully, sprinting towards the opening and entering the forest.

"Yukari!" Ari called out as he ran into the tree-filled area to chase Yukari.

"Hey, wait!" Akira and Kotaro shouted together as they also rushed to follow the two other kids.

After running for a few minutes and passing a few trees, everybody halted. Draggy and Pip were standing beside Guile, who was still unconscious.

"Draggy, what happened?" Ari asked.

"Ari! Help us!" Draggy called out. "Guile is hurt!"

Ari let out a 'what' as he and Yukari walked towards Guile and knelt down.

Seeing the blood on Guile's lips, Ari darted off in retreat and stood up. "N-no! This…" He disliked the sight of blood as it always successfully sent chills down his spines.

After that, he quickly lifted the makeshift blanket, revealing a number of bruises on Guile's body. At this, he shuddered momentarily.

Yukari placed a hand on Guile's neck. "He's just unconscious. Don't worry about it."

"But Yukari, I think it's better if we try treating his wounds," Ari said, putting down Guile's coat before fanning himself with a hand. "I'm sure that it hurts if he wakes up like this."

Yukari turned to Ari. "I can help if we have a first aid kit."

"We don't have it," Ari muttered.

"Hey, don't forget about us!" a rough voice of a boy called from behind.

Ari turned to see Akira and Kotaro running towards them.

"No more jokes, please." Ari closed his eyes. "This is a serious problem…"

"By any chance you bring something to relieve pain?" Yukari asked Akira and Kotaro.

"Um, I don't," Kotaro replied. "Maybe Akira has something because he often ends up with sprains and bruises after playing soccer."

"You're really smart, Kotaro." Akira took off his schoolbag and put it down. After unzipping it, he inserted a hand into the bag and took out a dented white tube. "I bring my trusty ointment!" He tossed it at Yukari.

"You should be more polite to girls!" Kotaro complained.

Akira rubbed the back of his neck and guffawed. "It's my bad habit, so please understand." He then zipped and wore his schoolbag.

Looking at the tube flying over Yukari's head and landing a few millimeters away from Yukari's right side, Ari shook his head and sighed. Akira was always that rude.

Suddenly, Yukari called out, "Can you boys help me?"

"Let me help you!" Akira pounded his chest with a hand, before walking towards Yukari.

"Me too!" Kotaro joined Akira and headed towards Yukari.

"Actually I want to help, but first…" Ari turned to Draggy. "Draggy, what has actually happened?"

"There was a big bad clown called Skelly. He threw Pip to a tree. And then, Skelly beat Guile up until that red thing came out from Guile's mouth," Draggy said.

"That's…" Ari shivered. "That's really m-mean!"

"After that, Skelly tricked Draggy…" Draggy continued. "Draggy and Skelly went out of the park and took some meat from a butcher, but-"

"What?" Ari's eyes widened. "You…went to the butcher?"

Draggy nodded.

Ari's fear came true. If everybody found out about this, Draggy was not the only one who would be in a serious trouble. Ari too, might suffer a severe punishment if people knew that he was the one who wished and brought Draggy to life. If this happened, how would his parents react?

Trembling, Ari clenched his fists and shut his eyes tight. "You…"

"Ari…?" Draggy asked, blinking.

"YOU IDIOT!" Ari screamed, his voice echoing across the silent forest. "DON'T YOU KNOW THAT YOU'VE PUT ME IN A LOT OF TROUBLES ONLY BECAUSE OF YOU STEALING THINGS?"

"But Draggy-"

"SHUT UP!" Ari yelled, snapping his eyes open. "NOW GET THE HELL OUTTA HERE!"

"But-"

Ari delivered a solid fist to Draggy's snout and bawled, "GET LOST!"

The wing-like extensions on Draggy's head wilted. Holding his snout with his paws, Draggy limped away from everybody.

At this, Pip questioned, "Eh? Draggy?" Then, he skipped all his way to follow Draggy.

"I don't care about this anymore!" Ari yelled and squinted.

Akira, who was kneeling beside Guile, said jokingly, "Hey, cool off, buddy!"

As tears began to fill his eyes, Ari remained silent. Soon, he scurried with a forearm rubbing against his eyes. "I'm going home!"

"Ari, but you seemed to be so excited about this earlier…" Kotaro muttered, watching Ari running away from them.

All of a sudden, there were several groans, followed with a weak voice of a man saying: "Be careful…with Skelly…"

Everybody turned their attentions to the source of the voice. It was Guile, who was awake now. His eyes were partially open though.

"Guile!" Yukari called out. "It's okay. We're here to help you!"

"Where is Draggy?" Guile asked.

"I heard that Draggy and Skelly had made a mess outside the park, and Ari was very angry at Draggy," Akira replied. "He scolded and even hit Draggy before leaving."

"No… Skelly was successful with his vengeance…" Guile put both of his palms on the grassy floor to help him getting up. Unfortunately, a greater force pushed him back to the ground.

"Hold on! You're still hurt!" Akira exclaimed.

"I don't care…" Guile shook his head, huffing. "Take me to Ari…"

Everybody let out a 'huh'.

"Be fast… I knew everything…behind this…" Guile groaned. "I beg you… Please take me to Ari…"

Akira said, "But-"

Kotaro interrupted, "We'll do it!" He lifted Guile's right arm and brought it encircling the back of his neck. "Akira, he's heavy! Help me too!"

Akira walked to the opposite side of Kotaro and did the same with Guile's other arm. "Good that I often spend my time for sport!"

"I'll accompany you," Yukari added.

ooo

Ari strolled along the stone path, passing the stone staircase that led to the shed where Draggy used to be.

Sobbing, Ari kept uttering, "You idiot! I'll be in a serious trouble!"

He was clearly upset with the incident. Sure, he had been dreaming of having a pet or a sibling-like figure with him for a long time. Draggy's appearance in the real world was what he wanted.

However, the dragon had made a serious trouble: stealing from a butcher. Ari hated to imagine what penalties he had to undergo if people found out that he was indirectly involved in this incident. He could probably end up in a jail. If this happened, his parents would be ashamed and upset for having a son like him.

Stopping on his tracks, Ari muttered, "I can't be with you anymore because you've done something bad. Now, I'm all alone."

Suddenly, he heard some people calling his name from behind.

Ari turned and saw Akira and Kotaro holding Guile by his arms and dragging him along the way. Behind them, Yukari was following with a white coat in her hands. They soon came into a halt.

"Ari! Guile has something important to tell you!" Akira said. "It's about Draggy…"

"Nothing can solve that problem!" Ari yelled, before turning around.

"Listen to me…!" A rough gurgling noise followed the voice.

Hearing this, Ari turned his attention to the others. His mouth was ajar as he watched several fresh drops of crimson liquid dripping from Guile's chin. He could not stand seeing someone in such pain.

Ari rushed towards Guile, who was gasping for breath. "Guile! What do you want to tell me?"

"Skelly was plotting revenge on Draggy because a dragon that looked like Draggy killed him," Guile said softly. "In order to be successful, he exploited Draggy's innocent heart…so that he could watch Draggy suffer both physically…and emotionally."

"What?" Ari bowed down. He had just realized that Skelly deliberately did everything to make Draggy suffer. "Oh, no…"

"Ari, you should talk to Draggy about this," Guile suggested. "Both of you should apologize to each other."

"But Draggy has caused a serious problem," Ari mumbled. His voice suddenly rose into a roar. "Everybody will blame me if they know about Draggy and I!"

"Calm down, Ari," Guile assured, wincing. "I witnessed everything about this. If you are to be blamed, I shall stand up for you and Draggy."

Ari raised his head, tears brimming in his eyes. Right now, he believed that it was fine if he made peace with Draggy because there was Guile, who was still willing to help.

However, Ari had one more problem before approaching Draggy. "I don't think Draggy will forgive me! I scolded him so badly earlier!"

"Draggy will forgive you. I am sure of it…because he is kind…" Guile muttered, before coughing several times and spitting out blood.

Ari could not help but shed tears upon seeing Guile's condition. The magician had gone too far only to help him.

"This morning, I scolded Draggy because of a small problem, and yet…he did not view me as a mean person." Guile added, closing his eyes. "That is why I am certain that…he will…forgive…you…" After saying that, his body went limp.

"Guile! No!" Ari screamed. At this, he believed that Guile was dead.

Immediately, Yukari placed a hand on Guile's neck and said, "Don't worry about him! He's just out cold!"

"Yeah, now go find Draggy!" Akira urged.

"We'll take care of him while you're away!" Kotaro added.

After hearing those, Ari nodded and ran past everybody without saying anything.

ooo

With Pip skipping beside him, Draggy walked ahead, his gaze locked on the grassy floor below. "Pip, is Draggy wrong? Is stealing something from the butcher wrong?"

"I just know that stealing is bad," Pip replied.

Draggy whispered, "Draggy made Ari very angry…"

All of a sudden, a cackling laughter was audible.

Draggy looked around frantically, and found Skelly standing further on his left side.

Pointing at Draggy, Skelly laughed. "I'm so sorry that you have to suffer like this!"

"You're a big bad clown! Why do you laugh like that?" Draggy yelled. "You made everybody sad!"

"Sorry, but it's none of your business!" Skelly rushed and kicked Draggy on his chest, knocking the dragon away.

Draggy crashed into a tree, but due to his averagely thick scales, he was barely hurt. He usually did not want to attack, but Skelly seemed to be a threat for him.

Standing up, Draggy roared, "Cough Drop!"

He reared back his head, bringing arrows of fire gathering between his jaws and merging into a huge burning sphere. He then bent ahead, launching the fireball at Skelly.

Skelly raised his arms slightly and crossed his forearms, forming an X in front of his face. As the fireball collided with Skelly in his defensive stance, it diffused into tiny sparks of flame that soon disappeared without leaving a trace.

Skelly lowered his arms and snickered. "Too bad, but you need to hit harder." Clapping his hands repeatedly, he continued, "Well, I'll show you something nice." He pulled his arms back, and a steel ball was now visible in each of the gaps between his skeletal fingers. "Take this!" Skelly threw one ball after another in rapid succession.

Draggy covered his head with both of his paws to defend, but still took a mighty pelting from the solid balls of metal. Bruises were now visible on both of his arms, and they stung him.

Waving both of his arms, Draggy said, "It hurts! Why you do this?"

Skelly simply let out a 'nyak-nyak-nyak'.

A loud voice shouted from somewhere, "Because he wants to revenge!"

Draggy looked around, and saw Ari running towards him with a red gadget in his right hand.

"Ari!" Pip and Draggy cried out.

Ari stopped beside Draggy. Huffing, he said, "Draggy, now I understand everything!"

Draggy blinked. "Ari is not angry at Draggy anymore?"

Ari tilted his head to the side and glanced at Draggy with teary eyes. Smiling slightly, he muttered, "Of course not. I'm sorry for everything earlier. Thanks to Guile, I found out everything about Skelly."

Draggy smiled widely. "Yay! Thanks, Ari!"

"That man's name is Guile? Damn it! You ruined my plan!" Skelly bawled. "I'll find and kill you at once!" With that, he turned and ran away.

"I won't let you!" Ari shouted as he turned and rushed to follow Skelly. Guile had helped him a lot, and of course, he would hate to see him die.

But he stopped on his tracks when he heard a childlike voice saying: "Draggy will help!"

At the same time too, Ari's gadget glowed and shot out several burning strings. They flew backwards and headed towards Draggy. When Ari turned back, the threads were revolving around the dragon. Soon, they merged and formed a blazing orange orb that encased Draggy.

_"Draggy evolves!"_

The fireball bloated abruptly like a balloon being given a huge amount of gas.

"Draggy evolves? But I…" Ari staggered back. Draggy evolving was what he feared, but it was happening right in front of him now. "No! I don't want this! If Draggy grows, he'll run wild!"

Within a split-second, the sphere detonated and sent shockwaves of flame rocketing in all directions. But before they could hit any objects, they veered and flew towards Ari's gadget, merging with it afterwards.

With the fireball's disappearance, Draggy was now visible in his evolved form. He was standing about seven meters tall. His arms were large and brawny with three jagged claws jutting from each of his hands. His feet were rather similar to those of a carnivorous dinosaur; each had three muscular toes with sharp toenails on their tips.

Spreading his large, leathery wings, Draggy growled and shot wisps of smoke out of his nostrils.

At this, Ari turned around and ran away as fast as possible. Unfortunately, he did not see a knobby root due to his hastiness. He tripped over it and fell to the ground with a thud.

Before he could get up, he felt that the area around him was darker. He turned and saw Draggy glaring at him. The towering figure of the grown-up dragon was blocking the sunlight that was supposed to brighten the spot where Ari was lying on.

At this, Ari closed his eyes and covered his face with an arm. "NO!" was what he screamed as he began to tremble.

ooo


	8. The Growing Monster Incident

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Draggy had evolved, or in a simpler term, grown up. However, was growth a reversible process?

Feeling something wet crashing down on his hair, Ari thought it was his end. Right now, he believed that it was Draggy's saliva.

Letting tears trickle down from his eyes, Ari cried out, "Don't eat me! Find something else to eat!"

"Why eat Ari?" a childlike voice asked.

Ari lowered his arm and opened his eyes. He could now see Draggy looking at him with tears streaming down his cheeks.

"Draggy scares Ari?" Draggy asked. "Draggy really doesn't want to…"

"Really?" Ari asked several times, his eyes widening in disbelief.

Draggy scooped Ari up with his left hand. "Ari just stays here, okay?"

"Whoa…" Ari's mouth was ajar; Draggy was still friendly even though he had evolved. At this, he was sure that Draggy would listen to him.

Wiping the tears from his eyes with an arm, Ari said, "Draggy, find Skelly! He's trying to kill Guile!"

"Okay." Draggy ran, heading towards the hedge further in front of him.

Ari, who was now sitting on Draggy's palm, noticed that the surroundings changed quickly. Now, a stone path was visible on his sight. But something bad was happening there.

Skelly, who was standing with his back facing Ari, pointed at the three kids in front of him and shouted, "You're blocking my way and I'm so angry! I'll kill you now!"

Without hesitating, Ari commanded, "Attack Skelly! My friends are in danger!"

Draggy stopped abruptly and pulled back his head. Opening his mouth, he drew in a long, hearty breath.

"Draggy! You'll hurt my friends if you attack too hard!" Ari warned. "Can you think another way of attacking Skelly?"

Draggy breathed out a puff of smoke and said, "Um, okay." He leapt and spread his wings.

As Draggy swooped down, Ari could not help holding the edge of Draggy's palm tightly while screaming. He felt as though he was about to fall from the hand of the dragon.

In a flash, Draggy caught Skelly with his mouth and threw him away. An ear-splitting scream was audible as the skeleton clown flew off across the sky.

At the same time, Ari lost his grip on Draggy's hand and fell down. However, instead of hitting the ground, he landed softly on Draggy's palm.

Eyes widening, Akira asked, "Whoa, Ari! That's really Draggy?"

Ari smiled and nodded. "Anyway, where's Guile?" Ari asked in a calmer voice.

"Behind me," Akira replied, pointing behind with a thumb. "We dropped him and stood against Skelly!"

"Drop him…?" Ari asked.

"Yeah, no other choice," Kotaro added.

"You… Don't you know that such thing hurts?" Ari roared. Guile was badly hurt, and if someone abruptly dropped him to the ground, that would deal out pain. And Ari hated seeing someone who helped him in pain.

Akira smirked. "Hey, hey, cool off!"

"It was my idea. If we didn't do that, Skelly could easily aim at Guile and kill him," Yukari calmly said. "Besides, I believed that he didn't feel painful for two reasons. First, he is unconscious. Second, he doesn't have a single wound on his back."

"I get it," Ari said silently. He was still doubtful that his friends were doing the right thing.

"I think it's safe now," Yukari continued as she turned her attention to Guile, who was sprawled on the ground with his coat covering his chest like a blanket. Kneeling down, she took out a dented tube of ointment from her bag and added, "You boys help me too!"

Akira and Kotaro turned to Yukari and Guile before kneeling down. However, Ari remained still on Draggy's palm.

"Draggy, I'm wondering… Do you know how to be small again?" Ari asked.

"Small?" Draggy tilted his head to the side and blinked. "Draggy doesn't know."

"Oh, no!" Ari shuffled his hair with both of his hands. Now, where could Draggy hide? The shed was too small for him.

"Ari wants Draggy to be small again?" Draggy asked.

"Yes!" Ari nodded rapidly. He then turned his attention to Akira, Kotaro, and Yukari, who were kneeling beside Guile. "Anybody knows how to make Draggy shrink?"

"Shrink?" Akira blinked. "Why shrink? He looks cooler and stronger like this."

"No! I want Draggy to shrink so that he can enter his shed!" Ari yelled.

"Oh, well, you don't need to scream like that," Akira responded. "Try making him tired so that he runs out of energy."

"What?" Ari scratched his head.

Akira smirked. "Just ask him to take you around this park. In such hot days, he'll sweat and 'shrink' more."

"You mean it's like exercising?" Ari asked, now in a calmer voice.

"Yep!" Akira nodded.

Kotaro suddenly turned and added, "Avoid feeding him too."

"Really?" Ari questioned.

Akira nudged Kotaro on his side. "He really understands what I mean. Yeah, just do that!"

"I get it!" Ari turned to Draggy. "Draggy, take me around this park."

"Okay." With that, Draggy turned and walked away.

Sitting still on Draggy's palm, Ari smiled. He was pretty sure that this would work. For him, nothing was better than Draggy returning to his small self and being able to enter the dragon's so-called home.

Suddenly, Ari realized that Draggy stopped walking as the breeze seemed to die. At first he thought that Draggy was tired, but in actuality, Draggy came across something familiar.

Ari's eyes widened as he saw a glowing Pip standing in front of them. Weird. Pip also glowed when Starky evolved.

Seeing this, Ari snapped his fingers as he thought of an idea. An interview with Pip would probably explain a lot of things.

Ari flashed Pip a smile. "Just come here."

"Yay!" Pip shouted as he hopped towards Draggy and Ari.

Draggy reached out the hand where Ari was sitting on, allowing Pip to get on his palm.

Soon, Draggy started walking again.

While the dragon walked, Ari started a talk with Pip. He asked, "Do you know why you glow?"

"Eh?" Pip put a paw on his chin. "I heard that something good happens when I glow."

Ari smiled. "Do you know how to stop glowing then?" Right now, he believed that if Pip stopped glowing, Draggy would shrink.

"I don't know," Pip answered.

"Oh well…" Ari sighed. There seemed to be no hope, although he now knew that Pip's glow probably had something in common with Draggy's evolution.

They remained silent, but suddenly, Pip asked, "Is Guile okay?"

"He's fine. My friends are treating his wounds," Ari said.

"Yay!" Pip clapped his hands. "Can I stay with him?"

"Stay with him? Um, uh…" Ari stroked his chin. All of a sudden, an idea sparked him. Perhaps Pip's glow only caused evolution in certain range. If this were true, then Draggy would shrink if Ari separated him from Pip.

"Ari?" Pip asked.

"Ah, sorry for not answering you." Ari chuckled. "Of course you may stay with him." He looked at Draggy and commanded, "Draggy, take us back to where the others are."

Draggy let out an 'okay' as he turned back and walked.

After less than a minute of silent moment on Draggy's palm, Ari could see four shadowy figures kneeling down. Yes, four. Looking at this, Ari rubbed his eyes with both of his hands. Who was the other shadow?

"Ari, that just looks like that mean girl!" Draggy said.

"She again?" Ari exclaimed. "Let me get down, Draggy!"

Draggy brought the back of his hand touching the ground, enabling Ari to run away from the palm.

Hasting towards the four figures, Ari asked himself about this. If it were Yoshino, why was she here again? What did she want to do with Guile? Was she going to call him a wimp again after seeing the injuries he had right now?

Ari thought it was likely that Yoshino would insult Guile again. This fact was driving him mad. For him, Guile was never a wimp. He endured the pain from his wounds only to ensure that Ari would make peace with Draggy.

Unable to hold his anger, Ari finally screamed, "Yoshino, don't ever call Guile a wimp! He is stronger than you can imagine!"

Ari stopped running. Right. Yoshino was the other figure. But unlike usual, she was neither sulky nor pouty. Instead, tears were brimming in her eyes.

"Sorry, did I say something wrong?" Ari asked.

"It's not your fault, Ari," Yukari answered. "Yoshino immediately cried when she saw Guile like this."

Hearing that, Ari blinked. It was odd. Yesterday, Yoshino complained Guile about his worthlessness, but today, she visited Guile and cried. Had she changed perhaps?

"Yoshino, just try saying out what's in your mind!" Kotaro smiled. "We'll do our best to help."

"I…" Yoshino said under her breath. But suddenly, her voice turned into a scream. "No! This shouldn't have happened if I had been kinder to Guile! I was just too mean to him!"

"Mean?" Kotaro asked.

"Yeah, she called Guile a wimp just because he was losing in a battle yesterday," Ari said flatly.

Eyes widening in disbelief, Akira inquired, "What? Really, Yoshino? You called Guile a wimp?"

Yoshino nodded while sobbing.

"But guys, don't ask her anything about this now," Ari suggested as he was about to cry too. He could not stand seeing a girl crying in front of him.

"Guile, I'm sorry," Yoshino said in a calmer voice as she stroked Guile's head. "Please wake up… I have something to tell you."

No answer.

"Please, Guile," Yoshino said silently. "I promise to treat you kindly from now on."

But still, there was no answer.

A long pause followed, before Yoshino finally stood up and turned around. As she walked away, she muttered, "I've decided… I'll go home and visit you later, Guile."

Watching Yoshino leaving them, Ari gawked. The mean girl seemed to have changed… But how? What was the reason behind this?

Akira's voice suddenly snapped him out of his thoughts. "Well, it's really hard to believe that she calls Guile a wimp. After all, she is that 'Psychic Girl'. She won the 2020 Battle Board Tournament with Guile as her character."

"What?" Ari smacked his own forehead. "Oh, no, I've just realized something! I missed the finals and the news about that tournament!"

But nobody cared about Ari's remark.

"If she can use Guile's versatility to win the tournament, why can't she do the same with the real Guile too?" Kotaro asked.

"Maybe it's because things are different from the game." Akira turned to Ari and grinned.

"Why me?" Ari questioned.

"Because you prove that the board game is way different from reality!" Akira laughed. "Just look at the grown-up Draggy!"

Ari gasped. He had almost forgotten about Draggy because of the issue between him, Yoshino, and Guile.

"Is he shrinking?" Akira asked.

"Um, as you see…" Ari turned back to see Pip bouncing on Draggy's palm and laughing.

"I guess sport isn't the way, huh?" Akira rubbed the back of his neck.

"My other plan is to separate Draggy from Pip," Ari said. He then called out, "Hey, Pip!"

Pip landed on Draggy's hand and looked at Ari.

"Come here. You said you wanted to see Guile, right?" Ari continued.

"Yeah." Pip immediately hopped off Draggy's palm and skipped towards Ari.

"Okay, I'll be away with Draggy for a while," Ari sprinted towards Draggy, who had just lowered his left arm. He jumped to Draggy's hand. As soon as Ari reached the center of Draggy's palm, he sat down and said, "Draggy, fly high so that I can see the entire park!"

With a nod, Draggy spread and flapped his leathery wings. It only took a minute until he managed to hover in the air steadily.

"Yeah, keep flying higher!" Ari cheered. He preferred Draggy to fly in the park because other troubles might rise if he flew outside. Why not? Nowadays, the topic about 'monsters' was hot!

Soon, the area around was getting darker and darker. The wind too, was blowing harder than before. But that was not the worst of all. Ari could feel that his nose was runny as if he really had a cold. Also, goose bumps were rising as he shivered.

Curling himself into a ball, Ari stammered, "I t-think t-t-this is a b-bad idea…" Looking back, he saw that Draggy was barely fazed by the temperature change. Ari suspected that his thick scales were probably protecting him.

"Draggy, g-get d-d-down," Ari said, his lips trembling.

"Huh?" Draggy flapped his wings more slowly. "Ari looks sick."

Ari nodded and closed his eyes. "Just g-g-get d-down. Everything w-will be o-okay."

Upon saying that, he felt warmer. He opened his eyes and looked around, but could see nothing. He stood up, but as he did, he hit something hard and rough with his head.

"I'm really chilled to death?" Ari wondered out loud. "What is this place?"

It took only a few minutes to know the correct answer. There was a boom, before the 'ceiling' moved away and revealed the bright sky above.

Ari looked back to see Draggy smiling with his other hand raised. Apparently, the dragon was on ground level now as he was not spreading his wings anymore.

"Smart dragon!" Ari gave a thumbs-up. This was probably the smartest thing that Draggy had ever done.

Draggy nodded. "Ari wants Draggy to fly again?"

"Maybe, but I haven't decided." Ari turned around. Further in front of him, Akira, Kotaro, Yukari, and Pip were sitting on the ground beside a shirtless Guile, whose body was bruised and battered.

"Draggy, let me get down," Ari said.

Draggy lowered his left hand, but before the back of the hand met the ground, Ari had jumped down.

"Hey, guys!" Ari called out, running towards everybody. "How is Guile?"

Holding Guile's garment, Yukari turned to Ari and replied, "Still unconscious, but I'm sure that he'll be okay."

Hearing that, Ari halted, and saw Akira rubbing the bruises on Guile's torso with his ointment-coated fingers. As he did, Ari could smell a minty scent emanating from the medicine. It was just refreshing. At this, Ari believed that the ointment was able to ease the pain from the wounds.

Looking at this, Ari stepped ahead, wanting to help. However, his thoughts about the grown-up Draggy bothered him. If Draggy did not revert to his old small self, Ari would be in a trouble.

_Maybe I can leave him standing all the time. Who knows that he can shrink that way?_ Turning to Draggy, Ari said, "Just stand there, Draggy. I want to help Akira treating Guile's wounds."

Draggy nodded.

ooo

"What? Nobody's working in the ticket office?" Chikara asked, his eyes widening as he looked at the empty stall. "Is the news about the monsters that horrifying?"

A childlike voice replied from his bag. "Just ignore it and go into the park, Chikara!"

"Um, this time I'll just follow your suggestion, Starky," Chikara replied, before walking away and sighing. It appeared that the topic about the monsters was getting even more popular. This morning, he heard something about it at school as well.

Chikara knew that he should never speak anything about this to anybody else other than Ari. If he did, he would be in a serious trouble as he had Starky with him. For now, lying seemed to be the only way to avoid problems.

After walking for about four minutes, he saw a towering silhouette of a dragon further in front of him. Believing that it was a dangerous object, Chikara stopped on his tracks and kept quiet.

All of a sudden, a childlike voice from Chikara's schoolbag shattered the silence. "I feel something familiar, Chikara."

Chikara smacked his bag with a hand. "Hush! Starky!"

Somehow the noise disturbed the 'dragon'. Now the shadow was walking towards Chikara, slowly revealing its true appearance as it came closer.

"Damn it!" Chikara staggered backwards as the silhouette appeared to be a dragon. Right now, he was sure that running would be useless. This gigantic winged creature could just spread its wings and fly to chase him.

There was another option: letting Starky fight. However, chances of winning were slim. This dragon was huge, and he could smack Starky like swatting a fly.

The exception was only if Chikara could figure out the right strategy. Starky was small and of course, more agile than the big dragon. Perhaps enhancing Starky's agility with an Element Swipe would work.

Chikara put down his schoolbag and unzipped it. "Get out and fight off this dragon, Starky. I've figured out a way to win."

In a blink of an eye, Starky jumped out of the bag and landed on the ground beside it.

With his white gadget in his right hand, Chikara yelled at the silhouette, "I'm not afraid of you! Come here now!"

The shadow walked ahead and revealed itself as a very familiar figure. Yellow scaly body and blue stripes; this dragon looked similar to Draggy.

"Draggy?" Starky asked.

The dragon nodded and smiled.

"Whoa…" Chikara gawked. He had never thought that Draggy could grow so big. Evolution perhaps? If it were, then he could learn more!

Starky nudged Chikara in the leg. "Chikara, I don't think we need to fight."

"Yeah, yeah, I know!" Chikara walked towards Draggy, smiling. "Draggy, you evolved?"

Patting the back of his neck with a paw, Draggy answered, "Draggy doesn't know…"

"Why don't you ask Ari? He must know something, Chikara," Starky said.

"Hmm, you're right." Chikara zipped his schoolbag and wore it back, before returning his attention to Draggy. "Where's Ari?"

Draggy pointed behind with a claw. "Behind Draggy."

Chikara and Starky walked past Draggy. There, they saw Ari and three other kids were sitting in a circle.

"Ari, what are you doing?" Chikara asked.

Ari turned and smiled. "It's you, Chikara! What's up?"

Walking with Starky towards Ari, Chikara could sniff something different with the air. It smelled more like herbs than fresh leaves, which was unusual in a park. Curious, Chikara looked around and saw that further in front of him, Guile was lying on the ground, injured and unconscious.

Pointing at Guile, Chikara asked, "Ari, what happened to him?"

Ari stood up. "Skelly appeared and beat him up."

Chikara gasped. "Skelly? That skeleton clown from the game?"

"Yeah," Ari said. "But Draggy has sent him flying to somewhere else."

Chikara gasped. Everything about video game characters appearing in the real world was getting rampant, and it was horrifying. If evil characters emerged, it would be very dangerous.

"Skelly made me fight with Draggy," Ari continued. "I guess you know about the butcher incident?"

Chikara nodded. "Skelly was involved in it?"

"Draggy was too. Skelly did this so that Draggy would suffer both physically and emotionally. That clown was successful because he managed to make me scold Draggy harshly and even hit him!" Ari replied.

"That's really bad!" Chikara exclaimed. Soon, he spoke in a calmer tone, "But you didn't seem to be angry at Draggy now."

"Of course not. Thanks to Guile, I understand everything but…" Ari bowed a bit and paused for a moment. He then continued, "Guile went too far to help us. He was hurt, but he tried his best to convince me to make peace with Draggy. I wouldn't want to imagine how much pain he went through only for us!"

"I see." Chikara stroked his chin. "And how can Draggy end up evolving?"

"Draggy evolved when we were chasing Skelly, who was about to find and kill Guile," Ari answered. "I wanted to stop Skelly, and luckily, Draggy evolved. Why not? Guile had been so helpful, and I wouldn't want to let him die."

"Hmm…" Chikara rubbed his face with a finger. Starky evolved to survive the battle against Guile, which Chikara wanted. Draggy evolved to prevent Skelly from killing Guile, which Ari wanted. Now, Chikara had a hypothesis. Did evolution come in need?

"The good thing is, Draggy is friendly although he has evolved!" Ari added, snapping Chikara out of his thoughts.

"Really? How can you be so sure?" Chikara asked.

Ari smiled. "He always listens to me."

Chikara smiled as well. Ari probably knew how to control Draggy even after the dragon had evolved. This was what Chikara was searching for!

Calmly, Chikara asked, "How do you make Draggy so obedient?"

"I don't really know," Ari replied.

What a waste! Ari knew nothing about how to control Draggy. This only made Chikara sad because he had been hoping that Ari could help.

Chikara sighed. "Oh, well…"

"But now, there's a problem." Ari frowned. "Draggy is so big that I can't find a good place for him to hide."

"Hide Draggy? The forest is big enough for Draggy to hide," Chikara said nonchalantly. The disappointment of not receiving the answer to his question killed his mood to speak.

Ari argued back, "But people will find him! That will be a big problem!"

"Hmm…" Chikara believed that he should not let people find Draggy. If he did, he might be in a trouble too because he had Starky with him.

Looking down, Chikara put his fingers on his chin. If Draggy hid in the forest, some passerby could easily spot him as Draggy was a big yellow thing amidst the green trees. But if Draggy were green, people might confuse him as a plant.

Chikara raised his head. "I got it! Just paint Draggy green and tell him to hide in the forest!"

"Huh? What?" Ari staggered back.

"Draggy is yellow, and he's too flashy amidst the trees. But if he's green, people will have hard time finding him," Chikara explained.

"Oh, wow!" Ari giggled. "That may sound like a crazy idea, but it actually makes sense!"

Chikara smiled, but a frown replaced his smile when he heard someone from below saying: "That won't work, Chikara."

Chikara looked down. It was Starky who said that.

"What makes you say so?" Chikara snapped, annoyed.

"Okay, so I assume that you can easily get many buckets of green paint here," Starky replied calmly. "But you know, Chikara. Data gives different feels"

"That's the silliest reason I've ever heard," Chikara rebutted. "Our goal is to deceive people, not beings from data."

A pause.

All of a sudden, several groans broke the silence and prompted Chikara, Ari, and Starky to turn their attention to the source of the sound.

"Guile!" was what Ari let out as Guile rose to sitting position.

"I heard what you were talking about," Guile said. "I am sorry, but Chikara, your plan will not work."

Chikara's eyes widened. "Just what are you talking about? My goal is to trick humans, not beings from data!"

"But have you ever thought what if the humans here also have a being from data with them?" Guile asked.

Chikara gasped. It appeared that Guile was too intelligent for him.

"He's right, Chikara," Ari said.

Chikara turned around. "I know that!" It was still hard for him to accept that his 'well-constructed' solution might fail.

"I will tell you a solution for this problem, although…" Guile stood up and looked at Ari. "…I am certain that you will disagree with me."

"What's your idea?" Ari asked. "And why do you say that I'll disagree with that?"

"Injuring Draggy can force him to revert to his basic form," Guile answered. "But you would hate to see Draggy getting hurt, would you not?"

Ari's jaw dropped. Guile was right about how he would react after hearing that. Sure, that was the solution. Like in the battle yesterday, Starky was injured and as a result, he became a small alien again.

But it became a conflict. Ari wanted Draggy to 'shrink', but he could not stand seeing someone hurting his dragon friend. Ari might end up like a baby having his bottle stolen if that happened.

"Are you listening?" Guile asked, snapping Ari out of his thoughts.

"Ah, yes!" Ari replied. "But…isn't there another way?"

"I am afraid that that is the only solution," Guile said, bowing. "Also, I have to admit that…" He grunted, before muttering, "…I don't have the heart to hurt Draggy either."

"Oh no…" Ari muttered as tears began welling in his eyes. He was rather glad because of Guile's honesty and kindness, but the lack of solutions saddened him. "Why must everything be so difficult?"

It was only a matter of seconds until Ari started bawling like a child losing his mom. If he could not find how to hide this grown-up Draggy, he would lose the dragon. And worse, he would probably be in a serious trouble because Draggy was involved in some problems at Shinjuku.

"Stop crying, Ari!" a girl's voice assured. "There must be a way!"

Ari wiped his eyes with his forearm and glanced at Yukari, who was now standing in front of him.

Yukari smiled. "No matter how bleak a situation is, there's always the way out."

Ari was now sobbing instead of crying out loud.

Akira walked towards Ari and placed a hand on the latter's shoulder. "What about letting Draggy hide in the forest?"

"That won't work!" Ari yelled. _Just why the hell didn't Akira listen to the earlier conversation, jeez!_

"It can work! I don't think a passerby will want to enter the forest because nowadays, people are all talking about how troublesome these monsters are!" Akira said cheerfully. "Besides, Draggy looks really strong right now. I don't think people will be brave enough to charge at him."

Ari gulped and nodded. That sounded like a great idea, although Ari was still doubtful whether this would work or not.

"Hmm, that isn't a bad idea," a calm voice of a boy came from behind.

"Just be more optimistic, Ari!" Yukari added.

"Um, I think…" Ari began to smile. "Okay." He turned to Draggy and said, "You go hide in the forest!"

Draggy nodded, before turning right and walked into the forest until he vanished from the sight.

At this, Guile took his coat from Yukari's hands and wore it without buttoning it, before hobbling past Ari. "I will do my best to take care of him."

Hearing that, Ari turned and raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean with that?"

Guile stopped on his tracks and looked at Ari with a smile. "Rest assured, Ari. While you are away, I will ensure that Draggy is safe."

Ari could not help uttering a "What?"

Guile simply replied, "You are so kind. That is why I am glad to help you with the best of my abilities."

"But Guile… You're still hurt, aren't you?" Ari spoke with a concerned look on his face.

"Yes, my body aches as I move, but I believe that everything should be fine by tomorrow," Guile answered.

"But-" Unfortunately, Ari was cut off fast.

"You need not worry about me," Guile said, before turning around and walking slowly to follow Draggy.

Ari could feel something wet in his eyes when he watched Guile walking away with difficulty. The man was moving with a pattern: limping for a while, stopping for a moment to catch a breath, hobbling again, pausing, and so on.

With tears brimming in his eyes, Ari whispered, "Thank you so much, Guile."

"Not the best solution, but Guile sounds promising," Chikara muttered. "Anyway, let's go home. There's nothing left to do."

"I guess…" Ari said, before looking at Pip, who was glowing and standing beside Chikara. "What about you? What are you going to do?"

"I'll join Draggy and Guile!" Pip turned around and hopped away.

At this, Starky nudged Chikara's leg. "Chikara, can I join them just for today?"

A loud "No!" was Chikara's reply.

"C'mon, Chikara. Just let me free today please?" Starky pleaded, looking at Chikara with puppy eyes.

"Er…" Chikara scratched his head, before answering, "How about tomorrow? I'll take you here at nine, and we'll stay here for the whole day."

"That's a deal!" Starky cheered, jumping excitedly like a spring.

After scooping Starky with both of his hands, Chikara asked, "Are you guys planning to be here tomorrow?"

Ari quickly replied, "Of course I will!" He then turned to Akira, Kotaro, and Yukari. "How about you?"

"I'll come here tomorrow, but I may be late," Yukari said. "I'm doing household chores in the morning."

"Count me in, but I'm afraid that I may oversleep just like you, Ari," Kotaro said.

"I've promised my friends to go jogging in the morning, so…" Akira murmured. "I'm absent, that's all!"

Kotaro smacked Akira's back playfully. "No other reasons than sports?"

"Because I like sports!" Akira shouted.

Kotaro chuckled. "Okay."

"Fine, then see you tomorrow!" Chikara turned around and walked away with Starky in his hands. "You all should go home too. I'm sure that you don't want to make your parents worry."

Ari nodded and smiled. Going home was probably the best thing right now. However, there was still one thing he wished to know before doing that.

Slowly, he walked towards the hedge and looked into the forest. Amidst the palisades of trees, Guile was holding a glowing Pip in his hands. Beside him, Draggy was lying on the ground like a dog, sleeping soundly.

Ari smiled a bit before turning around, where he could see Akira, Kotaro, and Yukari chatting with each other.

"Are we going home?" Ari asked.

Akira, Kotaro, and Yukari stopped chatting and looked at Ari.

Reacting to the temporary silence, Ari blinked. "Eh, do I interrupt your fun?"

"Not really!" Akira replied. "Just chatting about school and homework…"

"Anyway, can we go home now?" Ari asked.

Yukari, Akira, and Kotaro nodded in unison. With that, they walked along the stony trail with Ari and headed towards the exit of the park.

ooo

"You don't want to sleep too, Guile?" Pip asked.

Guile chuckled. "I won't rest until Draggy reverts to his original form."

"But Skelly beat you up earlier… Don't you feel hurt?" Pip questioned.

"Somewhat," Guile replied flatly.

"You really need to rest," Pip said.

Guile let out an exasperated sigh. Sometimes it was annoying to talk with Pip, but this would never anger him. The way this little squirrel spoke did show his concern towards Guile. This delighted him, given the fact that he had been alone most of the time.

All of a sudden, Guile noticed a twitch on Draggy's body.

"Draggy? Are you awake?" Guile asked.

Draggy opened his eyes and muttered, "Draggy is hungry."

Hungry? This might be a problem. If Draggy went out of the forest, people might spot him. But if Guile went out to search for food, nobody was watching over Draggy except Pip, who was unreliable due to being so small. Perhaps giving up would be the best… No! Guile had promised to take care of Draggy, and breaking a promise, especially the one he had made with a person who had helped him, would be a disgrace for him.

Guile stroked his chin, racking his brain for a solution. In a short time, people might not be able to do anything bad to Draggy. And if Guile were fast enough, everything should be fine.

"Stay here with Pip. I will find some food for you," Guile said as he turned away and leapt to the air.

As he jumped though, he groaned as he felt a sharp pain shooting from his chest. For a moment, he was about to fall headfirst to the ground, but as he rethought about the promise he made, he regained his composure and remained airborne. Now, in a somewhat hunched posture, he glided out of the forest area.

After flying over the hedge, Guile stopped. Grasping his left side with a hand, he panted. Flying hurt and exhausted him more than walking, but there was no choice. If he were too slow, he would leave Draggy and Pip for too long, and that might be risky.

Lowering his hand, he looked to the left, but nothing edible was on his sight. He then looked to the right, but there was nothing interesting except a silhouette of a fat cylindrical object.

It might be a trash can, Guile thought. Although it was not a source of hygienic food, there was no choice. Leftovers would not be too shabby as a meal, especially if they were some half-eaten chicken cutlets…as long as they were not too rotten yet.

Guile turned right and flew all his way to the silhouette, which happened to be a trash can which was only somewhat shorter than he was. He stopped and leaned his chest against the garbage can for a moment, wincing and panting. His injuries were worse than he thought…

But succumbing to the pain would only worsen things; Guile knew that. He had promised to look after Draggy, and giving up was equal to breaking the promise. Even when Draggy could not shrink, Ari had cried so loud. What if Draggy were in a serious trouble?

Slowly, Guile leaned back and grabbed the cover of the garbage can. Whatever it took, he had to keep Draggy away from problems.

He lifted the cap of the trash can, but as he did, he could not help dropping the lid to the ground. It was not the stench that bothered him, but the fact that the garbage can only contained some tissue papers, plastic wraps, fruit peels, and cookie crumbs frustrated him.

_A few cookies would never satisfy a huge dragon, let alone a small pile of crumbs._

Guile sighed at that thought. He had failed in his mission, and it appeared that he had to give up… But no! Guile was not the type that would give up easily, especially when it came to keeping a promise.

Bringing his left forearm into his sight, he muttered, "It will not hurt me if I sacrifice my blood for them."

But a conflicting thought suddenly struck his mind. If he gashed his forearm to obtain some blood, he would create a prominent scar as he always needed his arms to do something. As a result, both Draggy and Pip would easily find it, and if they did, they might make a fuss about the 'food'.

Guile moved his left forearm to the side, and as he could see his boots, he thought of an idea.

He sat on the stony trail and stretched out his legs to the point his calves and feet reached the grassy ground ahead. He then folded his right leg and brought the knee close to his chest. Upon doing that, he took off the boot and sock that covered his right foot.

_They would never find the scar as it would be concealed all the time._

He waved his right hand, conjuring cold vapor which gathered and formed a jagged shard of ice that floated above his palm. He then grabbed the icicle and brought its pointed tip coming down on his ankle.

_I would always keep my promise._

ooo

_Grrr…_

Draggy slowly rose to a sitting position as he heard that growl, frowning. He was feeling unhealthy; his stomach was like being filled by gas.

"W-what? Draggy, is that a m-monster?" Pip asked, running towards Draggy.

"No!" Draggy roared, placing both of his hands on his belly. "Draggy is really hungry! Where's Guile?"

Pip placed a paw on his chin. "I hope he's okay… Let's wait!"

Draggy nodded, but a frown remained on his face. Dull pain kept radiating around his stomach, and it was tormenting. It was too uncomfortable for him to both sleep and move.

After waiting for three minutes, Draggy felt that something was pulling his heart out. His vision was now blurry and spinning.

"Draggy is…going to…" Before Draggy could continue speaking, everything on his sight seemed to grow taller. At this, Draggy's mouth was ajar.

As everything stopped 'growing', Draggy's vision was stable again. He looked around and asked, "What happened?"

All of a sudden, he felt a gentle nudge on his tail. He turned around, and was surprise with what he saw. It was Pip, but he had stopped glowing. He seemed to have grown bigger as well.

Really? Everything had grown up?

Draggy blinked several times, before tilting his head to his left side. What the heck had just happened?

"You shrank! That's really great!" Pip shouted, bouncing around like a ball. "When Ari sees you, he must be very happy!"

Draggy clapped his hands. "Yay! Draggy will go find Ari and tell him this!"

"Eh?" Pip stopped bouncing and lay on the ground. "That's a bad idea."

"Why?" Draggy asked back, no longer clapping.

A deep, yet familiar voice replied, "Because people will spot you if you do so."

"Huh? Guile?" Draggy asked.

Further in front of Draggy, there was a tall silhouette of a long-haired man walking towards him and Pip slowly. The left hand of the shadow was glowing like a torch in the dark, much to Draggy's confusion.

Looking at the way the shade moved, Draggy gasped. It appeared that the shadow was having trouble in walking; its right foot seemed to drop like a dead fish when it lifted its right leg. At this, Draggy suspected that something bad might have happened.

Without further thinking, Draggy leapt to the air and spread his wings. He flapped them fast, propelling him towards the silhouette at lightning speed.

Thud!

Draggy bumped against Guile, knocking them down with Draggy on top of Guile's chest.

Immediately, Draggy jumped to the air and flapped his wings, keeping him hovering in the air. "Oops! Sorry!"

Still lying on the ground, Guile winced and panted, before forcing a smile. "No problem."

"Is Guile hurt?" Draggy asked.

"You need not worry about me," Guile simply replied, smiling widely to ensure that he was fine. He then raised his left hand, where a pile of glowing molecules resided. "Anyway, this is what I can find. Go ahead and eat them."

Draggy licked his lips. "Yes, Draggy is hungry!" After saying that, Draggy opened his mouth wide.

"I am doing this to save my hand." Guile snickered, throwing the cloud of molecules right into Draggy's gaping mouth.

Draggy swallowed and burped afterwards. Sure, eating those molecules felt like drinking a glass of plain water, but it was oddly, satisfying.

"Is that enough?" Guile asked.

Draggy nodded.

"Good." Guile closed his eyes and smiled.

"Hey, Guile!" Pip suddenly said. "Draggy shrank! You know that?"

Guile opened his eyes and answered calmly, "I knew that when I was heading back. Seeing a cloud of molecules flying across the sky, I believed that Draggy was shrinking."

"Wow, you're smart!" Pip continued. "Yeah, I also saw that thing when Draggy shrank."

"But why Draggy didn't see it?" Draggy interrupted aloud, interested in the topic.

"Those shiny things flew away from your back," Pip replied.

Draggy nodded, before asking, "And why was Draggy less hungry after shrinking?"

Pip scratched his head. "I don't know…"

"Simple," Guile responded, his voice brimming with confidence. "You are much smaller now. Large body needs more food for energy."

"That makes sense!" Pip screamed, getting up and bouncing around again.

Guile smiled. "In addition, I believe that Draggy shrank because of his hunger."

Ignoring Guile's remark, Draggy shouted, "Let's do something else! Playing maybe?"

"That sounds great, but I am not joining," Guile said.

Blinking momentarily, Draggy asked, "Why?"

"I feel more comfortable if I move less," Guile replied. "Perhaps you can play with Pip…"

"Ah, okay!" Draggy nodded, before turning around.

ooo

The small rectangular room was bright with a Teflon-coated lamp on its ceiling. In it, there were a computer set, a desk, and a chair.

A man in thick-rimmed glasses was sitting by the monitor. He was mashing the keyboard rapidly, spawning a huge wall of white letters on the black screen.

_This Growth Reversal Program should be done by tonight! This program should be rewarding and helpful enough for those children._

Leaning back, he yawned. He had spent a week staying up late just to develop this program, resulting in him being almost late to work sometimes.

As he opened his eyes, something outside the windowpane behind the computer caught his attention; a glowing golden cloud was flying across the cerulean sky like a flock of birds.

Adjusting his glasses, the man said, "Ah, so one of them managed to figure it out. This thing may cause some troubles right now, but I will lend a hand with this Growth Reversal Program." He stood up and walked towards the wooden door.

As he grabbed the doorknob, he smiled. "If that pile of data belongs to Starky, my son deserves a praise. Hard work always pays off."

ooo


	9. Much Ado about Data

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While Chikara was discussing with his father about Starky's issue, Skelly returned to Shinjuku Park for revenge. Would Skelly succeed in causing some troubles to Draggy?

The stone hallway was sun-dappled thanks to a few short and narrow openings on the wall. It was still afternoon; devoid of noise, save for the sounds of bickering and leather shoes hitting the ceramic floor.

Apparently, it was Chikara, who was walking along the hallway with his 'talking schoolbag'.

"Hey, Chikara! I hope you aren't lying about taking me to Shinjuku Park tomorrow!" a childlike voice shouted.

"Yeah…" Chikara said, before rising into a higher tone. "And would you mind keeping your mouth shut? I'm sure that you don't want to be caught here, Starky."

"Why are you talking like that?" Starky asked.

"You must know that people are all busy about these monsters!" Chikara yelled. "And now, SHUT UP!"

With that, the area became silent again, except for the noises of a two-legged walking.

It took a minute for Chikara to reach his residence. Knocking on the wooden door, Chikara called out, "Mom! Dad! It's me, Chikara!"

With a click, the door opened, and a grey-haired man in a pair of thick-rimmed glasses greeted Chikara, "Good afternoon, Chikara. Come in." After that, the man turned and walked away.

Chikara stepped into the houseroom, before closing the door behind. As he walked ahead, he smiled. There was no Haruko coming to 'rob' Starky away from him. It could be either Haruko had some homework to do or…

Wait! As Chikara inspected his surroundings, he could see that Haruko was clearly sitting on a couch, shuffling a few plastic teapots and teacups on the table in front of her. Had she found out that Starky was not a doll? Or was she more interested in those toys now?

_As long as she doesn't bother me, I'll just forget about it._

Chikara walked past the living room and headed towards his bedroom, but before he could grab the doorknob, he heard someone speaking to him from behind.

"Chikara, I have something important to discuss with you."

Chikara turned to see his father, Hachiro Jikan, standing with his hands in the pockets of his trousers.

"What is it?" Chikara asked.

"Something important. Now, follow me into my computer room immediately," Hachiro replied as he turned and walked away.

Chikara nodded, before following Hachiro. He knew that he had better store his schoolbag somewhere before entering his father's computer room, otherwise Starky would be caught. However, if he did, his dad might be angry at him for not really following his order.

Well, that was the drawback of having a strict father.

Chikara followed Hachiro into a small rectangular room, which contained a computer set on top of a plastic desk with a printer. Aside from those, surrounding the room were a huge amount of cables, shelves, and empty boxes.

As Chikara stepped into the room, he closed the door gently, before walking towards Hachiro.

"You know, I have some important things to discuss with you," Hachiro began calmly as Chikara stopped walking. "Firstly, where's Starky?"

Chikara gasped. What made his father speak like that? He had ever told him that Starky was just a stuffed toy, nothing else.

"Did you lose him?" Hachiro asked, his voice rising. "Or are you not respecting me?"

Chikara gulped. His father seemed to be very serious…or did he know a lot about this?

"Tell me the truth, Chikara!" Hachiro yelled.

All of a sudden, a childlike voice replied aloud, "Hey, stop yelling at Chikara!"

Shocked, Chikara immediately put down his schoolbag. Upon unzipping his bag, he saw a figure of white and cyan leaping out of it and landing on the floor softly.

Now, standing on two legs, Starky pointed at Hachiro and shouted, "Hey, mister! Chikara just can't speak too much about me because of that brat outside this room, okay? So, don't blame him!"

"Hush! Starky!" Chikara immediately seized Starky on his helmet from the back, silencing him. "Mind your manners when speaking to my dad!"

"Cut it out, you two!" Hachiro roared. Soon, his voice grew calmer. "Now, listen to me. Chikara, if you are to talk about Starky with me, you must not hide anything."

"Why?" Chikara asked.

"Because I know a lot about this bizarre incident," Hachiro said calmly.

Hearing that, Chikara let out a 'huh' as his eyes widened. "Daddy, how come?"

"I'm sorry for hiding this from you, but I do this so that you and your friends won't depend too much on me when it comes about taking care of these characters," Hachiro answered. "If you do, you can't grow. You'll be lazy."

Chikara looked at his dad, his mouth agape. It was still difficult to him to accept that Hachiro knew a lot.

"Really, mister? You know a lot?" Starky asked. "Tell us!"

There was a pause, before Hachiro began, "Fine, I'll tell you the beginning of these oddities."

ooo

_It happened two weeks ago._

_In a room filled with cables and boxes, Hachiro was sitting by a computer set. With a hand on a mouse, he maneuvered the pointer wildly as he saw a weird message in his inbox. What made it odd was that the subject was 'In Need of Assistance', and the sender was 'Viper Manor Laboratory'._

_Eyebrows twitching, he asked, "Who is pulling a prank on me? It's just a game! Even if this is referring to the fan game I created, it's still illogical! A strange program has infected and deleted it years ago!"_

_Hachiro scratched his head with his free hand. Sure, this could be a random kid who happened to be a fan of Chrono Cross joking with him. But why the subject sounded so formal and serious?_

_Or perhaps, it was something else?_

_Hachiro clicked on the message; another page opened as he did. He glared at the screen for a few minutes._

_"Dear Hachiro Jikan,_

_This is Luccia, a scientist from Viper Manor. I hope that this message finally reaches you, because this is an urgent matter._

_Our world is undergoing a threat by a strange program named Virus. It is invisible, but my research shows that it is hiding beneath our world, searching for a way to break free by creating earthquakes. Since there is no guarantee that the earth will not split because of it, we need help to eradicate that vile program._

_Lady Riddel and I have managed to create the element Chrono Cross. I once believed that this element would give us the chance to emerge in your world, but it appeared that it needed more power. Until now, I do not know what can empower it so that we can emerge in your world, so I hope that you can help us finding how it works._

_In addition, being close to this element yields odd reactions. I, myself, often feel more powerful near it. Sometimes, I also feel that I am about to change. Perhaps this element can cause evolution or something similar to it, but I am not sure. I guess it needs more power too._

_As silly as this may sound, we may just be some data existing in an application, but we also can dream and wish. We do not want a vile program deleting our world. So if you have found how to use the Chrono Cross element, please reply. Here, I will attach these elements in the message. We currently have three Chrono Cross elements._

_Note: One of the elements is flawed. Creating it destroys the lab and part of Viper Manor, but thanks to Lady Riddel, everybody is safe from the explosion. Unlike the two other elements, it takes about three hours to attach that flawed element in the message. While I am not sure what will exactly happen if it falls into your hand, it may just be dangerous if not kept properly. Or perhaps, you can just find a way to take an advantage of it."_

_Upon reading the message, Hachiro remained silent with his eyes widened and his mouth ajar. The content of this mail was too serious to be a joke._

_Soon, after a few minutes of contemplation, Hachiro clicked on the 'Download All' button on the attached files._

_He decided to believe in the message, because this was too similar to what had happened to his fan game._

ooo

"After that, the attached files disappeared and three Chrono Cross elements came out of the monitor," Hachiro continued.

"Well, what does that have in common with Starky here?" Chikara asked.

"I slipped that element inside the Starky board set after buying it," Hachiro answered. "It looks surprisingly fitting to the slots of the recently trendy Battle Board. So I figure out that the board is what that can empower the element to bring a character to Shinjuku."

"Oh, and then you're right about it!" Starky said.

Hachiro nodded. "And after discussing with Luccia about this, we theorized that once the element was empowered, three things would happen. First, a gadget will appear and call a character to the real world. The result depends on the medium the Chrono Cross element is placed."

"So that's why Starky is here instead of someone else!" Chikara commented.

Hachiro nodded again and added, "Second, a character is now a 'partner' to the person who empowers the element. Lastly, it enables a character to evolve with some requirements."

"Dad, talking about those three outcomes, how can another character like Pip appear in the real world?" Chikara asked. "I don't think someone has another Chrono Cross element."

"Good question," Hachiro answered. "Luccia told me that after a character emerged in the real world due to the effect of Chrono Cross, a gate would open up in her world and remain like that until people could find the solution to close it."

"So Pip came here by walking through the gate after the first emergence?" Chikara questioned, hoping for a confirmation.

"Yes," Hachiro replied.

"But why didn't Luccia and the other Acacia Dragoons travel through the gate?" Chikara asked.

"Because they choose to watch over their world while researching about Virus," Hachiro answered. "Luccia told me that."

"Wow!" Starky exclaimed. "Your dad knows a lot, Chikara!"

"Cut it out!" Hachiro shouted, before continuing in a flat tone, "It's because of hard work."

"My dad values hard work over many things, Starky," Chikara spoke calmly, before picking Starky up with both of his hands. "He probably theorized many things first before confirming his guesses via a discussion. Besides, he seems to actively keep his contact with Luccia."

"Exactly, Chikara." Hachiro sneered. "Now, I have another question. Earlier today, I saw a cloud of molecules flying across the sky. By any chance that belongs to Starky?"

"I don't know," Chikara replied.

"You don't know what it means?" Hachiro gave a stern glare. "That thing is heading towards a gadget because it is the additional data that comes from an evolved being."

Starky quickly butt in. "You're talking about evolution, mister? Yeah, I evolved, but I didn't remember a thing about it."

"Hmm." Hachiro placed a finger on his chin. Soon, he began, "Chikara, can you explain what caused Starky to evolve? Tell me, and I'll give you a hint what you have to do."

"Well, actually, Starky evolved after Yoshino provoked me yesterday. She ordered Guile to kill Starky," Chikara said. "But then, Starky went out of control and almost killed Guile. I couldn't understand why Starky was wild after evolving, while Draggy, who evolved this morning, was friendly."

"Okay, I'll respond to your remark one by one," Hachiro said. "Have a seat, because this may be long."

Chikara sat on the ground, his legs crossed.

"Just on the floor? That's fine then," Hachiro spoke calmly. "Firstly, you have to know that evolution depends heavily on your emotions and your bond with your partner. The rest…you have to figure it out by yourself."

"Eh? Why don't you just tell us everything about it?" Starky asked.

Hachiro smiled. "I prefer giving out hints to saying everything flatly. If I do the latter, it will only make you lazy."

Chikara nodded and added, "Yeah, it's more beneficial if you see. You can learn to analyze problems and solve them."

Ignoring Chikara's remark, Hachiro continued, "And about Guile and Yoshino… Is that true?"

Starky still managed to speak cheerfully, "Yeah, but Guile is now free from that meanie!"

Hachiro suddenly yelled, "What did you just say? Tell me more about it! Be serious, because it's impossible that Yoshino is being mean towards Guile!"

"Dad, it's really hard to believe it, but Yoshino…" Chikara paused and shifted his glance to Starky. "She forced Guile to fight although he was hurt. And she even told him to kill Starky!"

Silence.

"So, it's true… Honestly, I find it hard to believe that Yoshino treats Guile like that." Hachiro looked at the ceiling grimly.

"Dad?"

"Why do you think like that?" Starky asked.

"Yoshino… Her father was actually a huge fan of Guile, and I knew that Yoshino and her father loved each other very much," Hachiro replied, bowing down. "I often saw them strolling together at Shinjuku Park or a mall, sometimes with Yoshino's mother."

"Then how can Yoshino be that cruel to Guile?" Chikara inquired. It was hard to believe that Yoshino could be so different from her father.

Or perhaps, Hachiro speaking everything in past tense had something in common with it?

"Dad," Chikara began. "Why were you speaking in past tense about Yoshino and her father?"

Hachiro sighed. "Because her father died a few years ago." There was a pause, before Hachiro added, "That saddened me as well, because her father was a playful man, although he was a bit crazy and ambitious."

Silence.

"Anyway, let's forget about it," Hachiro muttered. "We can never end this topic if we go further."

Chikara nodded as Hachiro was speaking the wisest option right now. Talking more about Yoshino, her father, and Guile would be an endless discussion, because Chikara himself wondered if Yoshino knew about her dad being a huge fan of Guile. If yes, it was illogical. But if no, that made sense. If the latter was right, telling Yoshino that her father was once a Guile fan would probably lead to a dramatic change.

"Talking about evolution, I actually want you to show me the proof that Starky has ever evolved, but because now is not the right time…" Hachiro said. "…maybe tomorrow you can show me. We'll go to Shinjuku Park and talk more about evolution."

"But how? Is evolving the second time easier than the first time?" Chikara asked.

"Probably," Hachiro answered. "I have a hypothesis now, but I won't tell. If my guess is right, Starky will evolve here. And your mom and little sister will freak out."

Starky giggled. "But if I scare Chikara's little sister, she won't bother me anymore!"

Hachiro closed his eyes and smiled. "Chikara, I hope you know how to solve Starky's problem with Haruko."

"How? She'll be sad if I don't let her play with Starky!" Chikara replied.

"You can't hide the truth forever, Chikara. Haruko will soon know that Starky is not a doll," Hachiro said calmly, before standing up. "Now, I have another question. Who is the other person with a partner? Is it Ari Yamamoto?"

"The one with Draggy? Yeah, it's Ari," Starky answered.

"Okay, now let's leave this room." Hachiro walked past Chikara and Starky. "I have an important matter to do."

"And Chikara, you know what to tell your little sis, right?" Starky asked.

Standing up and nodding slightly, Chikara replied, "I'll do my best."

With that, he placed Starky on his head and walked out of the room.

Outside, as he was about to close the door, he heard a girl's voice asking: "Dad has done talking with you about Starky? Can I play with Starky now?"

Chikara slammed the door shut in a moment of shock and turned. Apparently, Haruko had been waiting for him. She was looking at his face with a cat-like smile and a pair of puppy eyes.

A soft 'no' was Chikara's only answer as he walked past his little sister with his eyes closed.

"Brother, why?" Haruko asked aloud.

Chikara muttered, "Starky…is not a doll at all."

"Liar! You lied!" Haruko shouted, before crying aloud.

"I'm sorry." Chikara grabbed Starky with both of his hands and turned to his crying little sister. "Just take a closer look, Haruko. Starky is alive."

Haruko opened her eyes and looked at Starky.

"Starky, say 'hello'!" Chikara commanded. This should probably work, and if it did, Haruko might back off.

"Hello!" Starky said. "I hope that you aren't shocked when I talk!"

Chikara raised an eyebrow at Starky's additional line. It was unnecessary, he thought.

Haruko was silent. Her eyes widened in shock as her jaw dropped.

"It's shocking, isn't it?" Starky asked.

"Stop talking for now, Starky," Chikara whispered. He suspected that Starky's talkativeness might end up hurting Haruko's feelings.

"Uh huh."

"Good."

Chikara walked towards his stunned little sister. Smiling, he said, "C'mon, Haruko. You have many toys, right? Go play with them!"

Haruko nodded reluctantly, before walking past Chikara slowly.

_Problems solved!_ Chikara snickered.

ooo

Ari was sitting on a chair in his room. Looking at his bed, he muttered, "It always feels so different without Draggy."

However, today was more different since Draggy had evolved. Yesterday, he only felt a bit uneasy after leaving Draggy at Shinjuku Park. But now, concern added to his already troubled mind. Draggy was unable to shrink, and this might render the dragon visible to unfamiliar figures.

But wait! There was Guile, who offered to look after Draggy. With an experienced person like Guile, things were probably better… Or probably not. Guile was seriously injured, and taking care of Draggy might worsen his condition.

"I can just hope that they're all okay."

Suddenly, he heard a woman's voice calling his name from outside. He stood up, and walked towards the exit door of his bedroom.

Opening the door, he looked out and saw Michiko standing beside a table and holding a phone.

"Ari, Chikara's dad wants to talk to you!" Michiko shouted excitedly.

"Chikara's dad?" With an eyebrow lifted, Ari walked towards his mom. This was too weird to be a joke. He only knew Chikara, but why was his dad looking for him?

Stopping in front of Michiko, Ari took the phone and let out a 'hello'.

"Are you Ari Yamamoto?"

"Yes," Ari replied.

"Okay. Let's get to the main point of this conversation."

Scratching his head with his free hand, Ari muttered, "Yes…?"

"Tomorrow, can we meet at Shinjuku Park at nine? Chikara is coming along too."

"Huh?"

"I have something important to talk about. It's related to Draggy, Starky, and Guile."

With the phone still adhered to his ear, Ari looked at Michiko. "Mom, can I go to Shinjuku Park tomorrow to meet Chikara and his dad?"

Michiko nodded and grinned. "Of course!"

Ari resumed the conversation in the phone. "Yes, I can come, mister."

"Good, and can you bring some food tomorrow? We may end up spending the whole day there."

Ari looked at Michiko and asked, "Mom, can you prepare some food for me to bring to-"

Michiko interrupted, "Of course! I'll cook a lot for you!"

Ari spoke to the phone, "Yes, I can, mister."

"All right. See you tomorrow then, Ari."

And the phone went off.

After putting the phone down, Ari stood still and smiled. If Chikara's dad were really going to share with them about Draggy, Starky, and Guile, Ari could probably solve his problem. Who knew that Chikara's father knew about how to make Draggy shrink again?

_This is just awesome!_

ooo

Chisiki stood before a huge cylindrical machine with a monitor and a keyboard attached to its base and a huge amount of wires linking its top with the metallic ceiling of the room. Surrounding the device were men and women in white coats.

"How is the installation going?" Chisiki asked.

Several people answered in unison, "It should be done by tomorrow, Sir!"

Hearing that, an evil smile appeared on Chisiki's face. Tomorrow, he would be able to eliminate the beings at Shinjuku.

ooo

Night had fallen. The crescent had risen to its peak.

In a dark alleyway, there were five trash cans. All of them were piling up with rubbish ranging from paper and plastic to leftovers, except one, as someone was practically throwing everything in it away.

It was Skelly, who was standing on his right leg right now. The other leg was 'broken'; the calf and foot bones were missing.

"Nyak-nyak-nyak! What an annoying dragon!" Skelly uttered as he knocked away the trash can with a fist. "First, I landed on this filthy place! Second, I had to find my missing bones!"

Skelly turned and skipped, his sight locked on the trash cans. He had only finished digging one, and he could find nothing. Now, there were still four more to go…

"Bah, I'm not into digging those things anymore!"

For a few seconds, Skelly moved his arms rapidly, conjuring four solid balls of steel in front of him. With a sweep of his right hand, he caught all the orbs between his fingers before they hit the ground.

Letting out a 'nyak-nyak-nyak', Skelly slapped the air, throwing away the orbs as he did. Each sphere hit the body of the trash can and knocked it down on impact. However, there was a ball that missed; it hit the wall and left a few cracks on it before bouncing off.

Glaring at the standing trash can, Skelly roared, "This annoys me so much!" He hopped towards the garbage can and knocked it down with a punch.

As the big can crashed on the ground, the pile of rubbish in it spilled out. Amidst the mess, Skelly found something familiar. There was a long bone protruding from the heap of junk.

"Nyak-nyak-nyak! Found it!"

Skelly grabbed the thin bone out of the rubbish mound and attached it to the back of his shinbone.

But something was still missing.

"My foot!" Skelly screamed. "Those bones are like tiny rocks and how the hell can I find them all?!"

Skelly hopped around the alleyway and surveyed the area, only to find nothing. However, an idea suddenly popped up in his mind. Why had he not thought of trying to 'feel' where his other bones were? They were data, just like him.

Patting his own head, Skelly concentrated. It took less than five seconds for him to feel a vibration on his skull. It came from the dead end of the alleyway.

"Must be somewhere around the corners."

Skelly skipped towards the northeastern corner and found a brownish rock lying on the ground. He hopped, before landing his 'broken' leg on the rock.

CLACK!

"My heel bone!" Skelly grinned. "A great find."

After that, he patted his own head again. He concentrated, but after a minute, he felt nothing.

"Oh, crap! I STILL HAVE TWENTY-FIVE MISSING BONES!" Skelly yelled, smacking the wall repeatedly in a fit of rage. "WHERE HAVE THEY GONE?"

Grumbling, Skelly turned around and paced out of the alley. Sure, as long as he had his heel bone, he could walk, but it was just tiring when he tried to run because of having no foot bones.

Skelly stopped at the desolate pavement. Standing still, he watched several cars speeding along the street.

_How nice they are. They can go anywhere fast just because they have wheels._

Wheels? Wheels could roll.

Skelly himself was capable of conjuring balls, which could also roll.

"Hey, if I conjure a bigger ball, I can ride on it and go anywhere fast like them!"

Skelly clapped his hands hard once, before pounding the ground with both of his palms. As he pulled back his arms slowly, a small steel ball rose from the earth.

"Yeah!"

As Skelly raised his arms over his head, the orb grew larger and larger. When it was as big as he was, he clapped his hands once again. And the ball stopped growing.

Excitedly, Skelly leapt into the air, before landing on the top of the ball with his hands. Now, on the pinnacle of the orb, he stood on his palms and began walking with his arms. As he did, the ball rolled, and sped up gradually.

"Here I come, Draggy!" Skelly shouted.

ooo

A crescent moon was visible in the indigo sky, accompanied by countless number of twinkling stars in doing its task: brightening the area below.

Down there, Draggy was sleeping under a tree like a dog, breathing and snoring rhythmically. Beside him, Pip was bouncing around like a ball.

Further in front of them, Guile was lying on the ground. With his head resting on his hands, he looked at the sky. The sparkling speckles reminded him of something he learned in his childhood.

_My father once said that if there were a falling star, I could make a wish, and it would come true._

With tears welling in his eyes, he wondered if it were true. If yes, he would wish for something he had been dreaming to have for about twenty years.

A childlike voice suddenly snapped him out of his thoughts. "Guile? Why are you crying? Are you still hurt?"

Guile gasped and looked to his right side. There Pip stood, looking at him with a pair of concerned eyes.

"My old wounds still hurt, but I cry not because of them." Guile answered.

"Then why?" Pip asked.

There was a moment of silence, before Guile began, "I was feeling nostalgic."

Pip blinked. "Nostalgic?"

"Those stars…" Guile returned his attention to the sky. "Have you ever heard that if you make a wish when you see a falling star, the wish will come true?"

"I don't know…" Pip silently replied. "But why are you asking that?"

"Because I am curious whether it is true or not," Guile answered. "If it is, I am eager to make a wish."

"Really? What's your wish?" Pip asked. "Power? End that rivalry thingy?"

Guile looked at Pip and smiled. "None of them."

Pip fell flat on his back due to shock. "But earlier, you sounded like you really wanted power to solve that rivalry problem!"

"No, that is just a lie," Guile replied. "I have nothing against my rival."

"Why did you lie?" Pip asked.

Guile sighed. It was very hard for him to say the reason out loud.

"Why?" Pip insisted.

After a moment of silence, Guile finally began, "I know my wish sounds silly, especially for a cold person like Yoshino. It won't be wise to tell Ari either, because if I do so, he will try to help me to an unreasonable extend. But actually, all I want in my life is just one thing, because I have never had it. To be exact, it was gone when I was seven, and again when I was older."

"Huh?" Pip rubbed the back of his neck. "What's your wish? Treasure? Money? Fame?"

Guile replied in an almost inaudible voice, "A family."

"What?" Pip asked, placing a paw behind his pointy ear. "I can't hear you!"

A 'never mind' was Guile's only answer. Letting everything out would make him break down in tears, and this might result in Pip asking too many questions. And that would make him bawl even louder. Sure, crying aloud was very unusual for a grown-up man like him, but he could not help it.

"Pip," Guile began. "I'm certain that you'll cry as well if I tell you everything."

"Huh? Why?" Pip asked.

"Believe me; you won't want to hear about it," Guile muttered.

"But why?" Pip asked again.

Guile remained silent. Perhaps not answering Pip would be the best solution…and it worked. It only took a minute of waiting until Pip became quiet.

The cold breeze of the night blew, bringing with it leaves and dust. The forest area of Shinjuku Park was silent, save for a few noises from the howling of the wind.

But the stillness did not last long.

Hearing some rattling sounds followed with a 'nyak-nyak-nyak' from afar, Guile placed both of his hands on the ground. Slowly, he rose to feet and looked around.

"Guile?" Pip asked.

"Pip, wake Draggy up," Guile commanded. "That sounds like Skelly."

As the noises of rustling leaves grew louder, Guile pulled back his right arm. Red light emanated from his hand as flame sparks danced along his forearm.

All of a sudden, a huge ball of steel rolled towards Guile.

Before it could run over him, Guile leapt to his right side and dodged the giant orb entirely. Looking back, he spotted a skeletal figure standing on arms atop the rolling ball.

Immediately, Guile thrust his burning hand, sending a sphere of flame hurtling towards the silhouette. Upon colliding with the figure, the fireball exploded and knocked the skeleton off the sphere.

"Nyak-nyak-nyak! You again?" the figured yelled as it landed on the ground beside the ball with a thud. "I guess I have to get rid of you first."

Guile ignored the remark as he noticed something bad; the giant ball was about to collide with Pip and a sleeping Draggy. Seeing this, Guile jumped and glided towards the rolling sphere with lightning speed.

Within a split second, Guile stopped in front of the ball and placed his palms on the smooth surface of the sphere. The giant orb managed to push him back, but it was not long until it became completely motionless.

"Nyak-nyak-nyak! You're the most annoying guy I've ever met!" Skelly yelled, watching the giant orb vanishing into the thin air.

Guile looked at Skelly and said, "I do not mean to annoy you, Skelly. However, I cannot let you hurt these kids."

"Then I'll kill you first!" Skelly said, running towards Guile with his fingers wrapping into fists.

Seeing an incoming punch, Guile raised a forearm and blocked it. Instinctively, he countered the blow with a straight to Skelly's face.

"Getting serious, aren't we?" Skelly inquired, proceeding to punch in rapid succession.

Guile returned the blows by throwing a flurry of punches.

An exchange of fists ensued. The fisticuffs would be endless, only if Guile were more experienced in close combat. Unable to match Skelly's speed, Guile finally received several forceful blows to the chest and stomach, followed with an uppercut to his jaw.

Seeing a chink on Guile's defense, Skelly let out a 'nyak-nyak-nyak' and delivered a straight to Guile's gut, knocking some blood out of Guile's mouth and leaving him gasping for breath.

"Don't mess around with me next time, nyak-nyak-nyak!" Skelly laughed.

With sweat dribbling down his head and body, Guile panted and wiped the blood on his lips with an arm. He was tired and hurt, but his determination enabled him to speak fiercely, "As long as you try to hurt those children, I will NEVER stop ruining your plan!"

"Then I'm gonna beat you up!" Skelly chuckled.

Ignoring Skelly, Guile brought his hand in front of his face with the thumb between his index and middle fingers. He snapped his fingers rhythmically, letting loose a tiny lightning bolt for each snap. Unfortunately, his attack was futile; the thunderbolts bounced off and vanished as they hit Skelly's bones.

Clenching his hands into fists, Skelly jumped into the air and taunted, "Nyak-nyak-nyak! How about this?"

That was what Guile heard before a hammer-like blow landed on his head. Now, with his sight spinning and blurry, he fell to knees, huffing with both of his hands supporting his body. It appeared that he had to rest for now.

All of a sudden, he heard: "Nyak-nyak-nyak! Get lost, little squirrel!"

Reacting to Skelly's threat, Guile felt a surge of energy coursing throughout his body. He snapped out of his dizziness and got up.

"Skelly!" Guile charged at Skelly and put his arms over Skelly's shoulder by going under the skeleton's armpits.

"When will you stop meddling with my plan?" Skelly growled, looking back at Guile.

Without answering, Guile looked at a confused Draggy, who was hugging a trembling Pip.

For Guile, that was not a pleasant view at all. Skelly had scared Pip badly.

"Skelly, I'll make sure that you pay for this!" Guile roared.

"Nyak-nyak-nyak, don't you know?" Skelly laughed. "You can't attack me like this. Because you're a foot taller than me, you can't even hit me with your head. Now, let me go!"

Skelly was right; Guile thought. But perhaps, he could use some help from Draggy, who was standing further in front of him with Pip.

Looking at Draggy and Pip, Guile commanded, "Draggy! Attack Skelly!"

Draggy opened his mouth wide and leaned back.

"Cough Drop!" Draggy took a deep breath, conjuring swirling flame sparks in his gaping mouth. As a sphere of flame formed between his jaws, he bent ahead and fired the fireball from his mouth.

"You're so stubborn!" Skelly grunted as he swept Guile's left ankle with his left foot.

Stinging pain shot up from Guile's left ankle, followed with dampness and warmth crawling up from his left foot. Guile winced at this and loosened his grip, releasing Skelly.

It was probably his old wound reopening itself.

Before Guile could move, a fireball hit him on his chest and exploded. With his skin reddening and flesh blistering, he stood still and panted. He was in a bad shape now.

Skelly guffawed. "I guess I only need to poke you with a finger and you'll fall off, nyak-nyak-nyak."

Guile was still on his feet, wincing and panting. The stench of burnt fabric was telling him to retreat. The pain from his burns and his left ankle was urging him to fall back.

But he would not give up yet. Giving up was equal to breaking the promise he had made with Ari, and how would that boy react if he broke the commitment and something happened to Draggy?

He had better find a way to finish Skelly off once and for all.

_Skelly was made of bones, and if I were able to shatter them, it would be over. A powerful spell should work, but it took a long time to cast it._

Suddenly, the term 'brute force' emerged in Guile's mind. Fighting with raw physical power was not what Guile usually did, but this might help now. Perhaps enhancing it with earth-related magic would do great…

Wait! Earth spells usually required the caster to pound the floor so that fissures and stalagmites would emerge. What if he beat Skelly instead of the ground? That might be devastating enough to smash the skeleton clown to smithereens.

Closing his eyes gently, Guile balled his right hand into a fist and pulled it back slowly. He was similar to a tiger, ready to pounce on its prey when opportunity struck.

"Still trying to attack? Don't be silly, nyak-nyak-nyak!"

That voice alerted him. Skelly should be nearby.

"I will never let you harm the children!" Upon saying that, Guile snapped his eyes open, letting out a battle cry as he threw a straight punch. "Tremor Fist!"

BAM!

His fist hit Skelly on his sternum. On collision, a number of cracks became visible on Skelly's rib cage.

In less than a minute, the fissures on Skelly's body spread wider and branched off in all directions. It only took a few milliseconds until Skelly's skeleton completely shattered. The bone fragments rained down, forming a pile of trash upon landing on the ground. Soon, Skelly's skull fell off as well, adding to the heap of broken bones.

Bouncing away from the mound of his own bone fragments, Skelly's skull yelled, "Nyak-nyak-nyak! Once I've found a replacement for my skeleton and fixed my skull, I'll be back!" And with that, it hopped all the way into the depth of the forest.

It was over at last.

At this, Guile realized that his adrenaline had worn off. He felt like a huge boulder was pressing his entire body, in addition to the stinging pain coming from his left ankle and his blistered body.

Suddenly, things went from bad to worse. Feeling like there were some knives stabbing his right elbow from the inside, Guile winced and grunted, beads sweat trickling down his temple.

_I think I have stretched my arm too hard by using Tremor Fist._

He clutched his right elbow with his left hand, hoping that the pain would subdue. Unfortunately, it did not ease the pain even a bit.

_Forget about it!_ Guile thought, releasing his right arm. He had something more important to do than worrying about his injuries. Besides, he knew that his wounds would not kill him.

With his right arm hanging limply, Guile hobbled towards Draggy and Pip and asked, "Are you all right?"

"Yeah," Draggy said, smiling and waving a paw. "Draggy and Pip are okay."

"It's over?" Pip asked, looking at Draggy, before turning to Guile.

Guile nodded and smiled. "Both of you are fine... I am glad." As those words left his lips, he slowly slumped to the ground.

"Guile!" Pip called out.

Smiling at Pip weakly, he said, "I will rest for now. Do not worry; I will be fine by tomorrow."

"But you're hurt so badly!" Pip cried out. "And your foot is bleeding! So much blood!"

Guile gasped. It seemed like he could not hide the fact about his injured ankle forever.

"Listen to me, you two. I have something to tell you," Guile said.

Pip let out a 'huh', while Draggy nodded.

"My foot… I cut it. If I didn't, Draggy would still be starving."

Shocked, Pip and Draggy gasped.

"Oh, no! Don't tell me that-"

Draggy quickly interrupted, "Draggy ate Guile's blood?"

Guile nodded. "I am sorry, but I cannot stand seeing you starving and hurt."

With tears were welling in their eyes, Draggy and Pip asked, "Why?"

"Because you are very kind to me," Guile muttered, smiling. "I appreciate your company very much, and to show how grateful I am to you, I am willing to do whatever I can to ensure your well-being."

"But why?" Draggy and Pip asked again.

Guile's smile faded as he remained silent for a while. Telling why he grew to like those two critters would result in him crying, because they were like his own children.

"I can't tell," Guile whispered.

"Why?"

It appeared that Draggy and Pip would not stop until he spoke up. Now, he was thinking that doing the best to answer the 'why' question would do well.

"I grew up in a hell. Or something like that," Guile murmured and closed his eyes. "That's all I can say."

Pip shuddered at Guile's remark. "Yikes! Hell?"

"Is it something bad?" Draggy asked.

"It's something scary, Draggy!" Pip replied, trembling a bit.

"Yes, and I am certain that you won't want to hear about it," Guile said, opening his eyes gently.

"Eh…" Draggy tilted his head to the side, his wing-like ears wilting. "Draggy feels sorry for asking."

Guile let out a 'never mind' and smiled.

"By the way…" Draggy looked around. "If Draggy can eat Guile's blood and feel full, can Guile eat Skelly's bones and feel better?"

"What?" Pip asked, his eyes widening in shock.

"They are still around?" Guile asked.

"Yeah," Draggy replied. "Guile wants those bones?"

"Yes," Guile answered. "I… No, I mean, all of us can convert the useless parts from a being into absorbable data."

"Really?" Pip asked.

Guile nodded. "And they can heal injuries."

"Good!" Pip clapped his hands. "You really need that."

Draggy and Pip ran away and disappeared from Guile's sight for a moment, before returning with a pile of broken bones cradled in their paws.

"Put them down in front of me," Guile ordered.

"Okay." Draggy and Pip dropped the heap of bone fragments down to the ground in front of Guile.

Guile reached out his left hand. As his palm touched the mound of wrecked bones, he closed his eyes and concentrated. Soon, he could feel something warm coursing from his fingers to his entire arm.

"This feels great!" Guile said as the warm sensation traveled to his left shoulder and spread to his entire torso, head, and the rest of his limbs.

It was only a matter of a second until all the dull and sharp pain on Guile's body faded in the warmth.

Opening his eyes, Guile supported himself with both of his hands before rising to a standing position. Now, he felt like he had just reborn.

"It's all thanks to you," Guile said, turning to Draggy. He then crouched and petted Draggy's head. "Ari must be proud of you."

"Really?" Draggy asked, blushing.

Guile smiled and nodded, before turning his attention to Pip. "Although your talkativeness sometimes goes too far, I appreciate you for spending your time with me."

"I just like seeing people happy!" Pip said aloud, bouncing around like a ball.

"Er, what should we do now?" Draggy asked. "Guile doesn't look sleepy. Pip also doesn't. And Draggy has slept enough."

ooo


	10. Revelations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Troubles arose as Guile tried to lead Draggy and Pip back to the shed. Meanwhile, Chikara and Starky discussed about evolution and their friendship, while Yoshino found out that her father genuinely loved Guile due to his empathy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One of the co-authors (DarkHorse26) requests me to draw the scene when Guile goes shirtless. See here:  
> http://www.deviantart.com/art/Chrono-Cross-Guile-Shirtless-459338141

"How about playing games?" Pip asked.

Draggy smiled. "Draggy likes that idea!"

Guile stood up and remained silent. Playing would make him unable to watch over Draggy and Pip well.

"Is Guile going to play with us?" Draggy asked, blinking.

Was turning down the request a good idea? Not really, especially when rejecting without a proper reason.

At this, Guile thought of asking what game they would be playing. If it were something that did not hinder him from watching over the two critters, he would join them.

"What are you going to play?" Guile asked back.

"Er…" Draggy put a paw on his chin, before looking at Pip. "What game?"

Pip scratched his head. "I don't know…" He turned to Guile. "You have any ideas?"

Guile stroked his chin. He had to think of a game that could let him look after Draggy and Pip without a problem. Maybe a game that could keep them close to him would be great.

Suddenly, Guile thought of an idea. Instead of playing games, they had better return to the shed first. They could play a game without any interference there, hopefully.

"What about returning to the shed first?" Guile asked. "We can discuss about the games there. Besides, it is safer."

"Sounds good!" Pip replied.

"Okay," Draggy said.

"Good." Guile smiled. "Remember, do not split up." After that, he turned around and started walking. "Now, follow me."

ooo

The wall of the room was dark blue with a number of intersecting white lines that formed a number of squares.

Amidst the room, there was a desk that stood against the wall with a keyboard on top of it. In front of it, there was a chair, on which Ami was sitting.

Chisiki stood beside the desk, leaning against the wall as he looked at the squares and smiled. In his mind, even if a Foreign Being emerged now, he would just laugh.

He was very sure that today was the last day those aliens lived.

"Mr. Chisiki!" a woman's voice called.

Hearing that, Chisiki turned. A short-haired woman in a pair of thick-rimmed glasses was walking towards him with a board and a paper in a hand.

"Is it about that silver rod, Dr. Kiko Kanagaki?" Chisiki inquired.

"Yes, here's the report," Kiko said, looking at the paper. "Our research shows that the rod consists of mysterious data. Whenever we try to decode it, our computer stops working."

 _Crap!_ Chisiki stomped the ground hard and frowned. Just what the hell were this rod and those Foreign Beings?

"Mr. Chisiki, after discussing with the scientists who work on the supercomputer, we believe that the computer may need sample data to work," Kiko spoke calmly.

"What makes you think so?" Chisiki asked, his voice rising.

"The scientists have done research on your Data Cleaner Program, and it needs sample data to 'know' what it should eliminate," Kiko answered. "We are now suspecting that the Foreign Beings are made of the same data with that rod, so we can probably get the job done without having to decode it."

Chisiki's frown turned into a smile.

"Good!" Chisiki exclaimed. "Is that all?"

Kiko nodded. "Yes."

"Fine," Chisiki said. "You may now leave, Dr. Kiko."

Kiko bowed, before turning around and walking away.

Returning his gaze to the squares on the wall, Chisiki snickered. Tomorrow would be a big day for him.

_Shinjuku will be safe soon! Now, aliens, I will show you what we, Data Hunters, can do!_

All of a sudden, Ami's voice rang across the room after a string of beeps resounded. "Mr. Chisiki, there were two Foreign Beings detected at once!"

"Launch the tracers, Ami!" Chisiki commanded.

Ami nodded and typed on the keyboard rapidly, yielding a cacophony of clicking sounds. Soon, amidst the square-filled wall, two small red circles appeared and slowly moved across the squares for a few seconds.

As the red circles stopped moving, Ami said, "The Foreign Beings are emerging at Shinjuku Park. Fortunately, they are small."

Chisiki simply laughed. "Big or small, don't worry, Ami! Today is the last day those aliens can be here!"

ooo

Draggy and Pip were walking along the rocky path of Shinjuku Park. In front of them, Guile was walking.

Suddenly, as wisps of mist surrounded the area, Guile stopped.

"Guile?" Draggy asked. "What's wrong?"

"There is something. Stay alert," Guile said.

Draggy blinked. Was it something evil?

"I'm scared!" Pip squeaked, moving closer to Draggy.

Draggy hugged the trembling Pip. "It's okay. There's Guile! And Draggy will help fighting them too!"

"No, stay back," Guile said. "This fight may be risky."

Draggy looked at Guile and tilted his head to the side. What did Guile mean with that?

"Draggy can also fight!" Draggy said. "Draggy just wants to help Guile, so that Guile won't get hurt so badly again!"

"Draggy, I truly appreciate your kindness," Guile uttered. "However, if you are hurt, Ari will be very sad."

"Huh? But Draggy-"

Guile interrupted, "I am certain that you do not want to see Ari crying."

Draggy bowed a bit. Guile was right about this.

Raising his head, Draggy asked, "So, what should Draggy do?"

"Find a safe place to hide with Pip," Guile replied.

Draggy nodded. After scooping up Pip with his paws and cradling the little squirrel like holding a baby, he walked past Guile.

But he stopped on his tracks as a cackling laughter echoed. That just sounded like a big bad monster.

Looking back, he saw two pillars of light rising from the ground. Soon, two capsule-like figures with crescent heads leapt into the air and landed on the ground.

As they were standing, Draggy could finally earn a clear sight of them. Both of them were the same; each of them had magenta capsule-like body with a pair of tiny arms and legs protruding from it. In addition, each of them was wearing a crescent-like hat and holding a bronze staff with a crescent on its end.

"Good evening!" one of the magenta capsule-like monsters shouted. "Introducing the Tutanshaman Brothers! I am Tut."

"And I am Tan," another capsule-like monster continued.

Giving out a snake-like smile, they said, "We are here to find more data to experiment on!"

Guile stood still, his fists clenched.

"Well, trying to stand against us?" Tut asked.

"Two on two. Easy, Tut!" Tan assured, wagging a hand. "Yes, only two, because that white creature is afraid of us I think."

Draggy gasped as his eyes widened. Those two monsters sounded confident, and that made him uneasy.

"You are not going to have a two on two," Guile spoke fiercely. "Two of you fight me at once!"

Tut laughed. "Suicidal attempt? Wow!"

"Let me show you a little of my power." Tan raised his staff and whipped it rapidly. "Fire Arrow!"

The crescent on the rod glowed with red light. As Tan lashed the staff like flogging something, arrows of fire leapt from the moon-like end and headed towards Guile.

"Guile! Watch out!" Draggy screamed.

With a swipe of his right arm, Guile swatted away the flames. However, fire was now roaring and consuming his sleeve.

"Mwahaha! That's just a little of my power!" Tan laughed, hitting the ground with the base of his staff.

Without answering, Guile brought his left palm facing his burning sleeve. Cyan light engulfed his left hand as small orbs of water gathered in front of his palm. As the sphere of clear water bloated into the size of a human skull, Guile thrust his arm and…

SPLASH!

The fire on Guile's sleeve died out, leaving nothing but a few threads of smoke and charred remnants of fabric.

Tut wagged his staff. "Now, let's get dangerous! We will unleash everything on you!"

Feeling that the twins might be troublesome for Guile to fight off alone, Draggy attempted to run past Guile. However, Guile's left forearm blocked his path, and he had to stop.

"Draggy, believe in me," Guile said. "Take care of Pip, and worry not about me."

Draggy gulped. How could Guile remain untroubled like this?

"Go back to the shed, Draggy! I will reunite with you later!" Guile ordered.

"But Draggy-"

"Go now! Take Pip with you!" Guile roared. "I can survive this; I promise!"

Draggy nodded reluctantly and turned around. He ran into the fog bank with Pip in his hands.

After running for ten seconds, he made it outside the thin wisps of fog with Pip.

"Guile!" Draggy screamed, frowning. "Draggy will be waiting inside the shed with Pip!"

Suddenly, a childlike voice asked, "What's wrong?"

Draggy looked down, his sight locked at Pip. "Guile doesn't let Draggy help him fight!"

Pip shivered and covered his eyes with his paws. "I'm scared!"

Draggy closed his eyes and swallowed. Pip was frightened, and it would be the best to stay inside the shed for now and pray for Guile's safety…

But if things went wrong, he would also intervene. He was afraid that Guile, his close friend, would lose and die.

ooo

"You're crazy enough to fight us by yourself," Tut said, swinging his staff lightly.

"You know? Once we kill you, we'll turn you into a living dead." Tan sneered, swinging his staff as well.

Living dead? That term sounded familiar.

"Halt! Do you know Skelly?" Guile asked.

"Oh, that clown." Tut and Tan exchanged their glances and smiled.

A pause.

"Well, he was so grateful because we turned him into a walking skeleton many years ago," Tut said.

"Yeah, he said that he could now revenge," Tan added. "He bore a grudge on that yellow dragon's lineage."

Guile remained silent. The Tutanshaman Brothers needed a lesson or two for creating a troublemaker like Skelly.

Tut and Tan returned their attention to Guile and snickered. "Anyway, we'll make this short. After that, we'll go after the dragon and the squirrel."

"What?" Guile uttered, his eyes widening. Those two guys had better not plan to turn Draggy and Pip into walking piles of bones.

The Tutanshaman Brothers grinned. "What's the matter? We're just saying that we'll make this short and after that, we'll go after the dragon and the squirrel."

The last line ticked Guile off.

Unbuttoning his garment, Guile roared, "You are asking for a serious beating, are you not?" He took off his coat and threw it away, leaving him bare-chested.

"Hey, you think you can have an advantage like that?" Tut and Tan asked. "Our fire is still a big trouble for you if you catch it with your skin!"

"I take off my coat when I am serious about pulverizing you!" Guile's baritone voice echoed as he clenched his hands.

Tut and Tan replied with nothing but a cackling laughter.

Ignoring them, Guile squatted slightly and pulled back his fists, his knuckles facing the sky.

At this, the Tutanshaman Brothers spun their rods.

Meanwhile, arches of purple electricity were crackling from Guile's feet to his head.

Tut's and Tan's rods were glowing with red light as flame sparks swirled along the shaft.

At the same time, electric currents flowed steadily to Guile's hands, bringing with them crackling sounds.

Tut and Tan continued spinning their blazing rods while pulling them back. "Get ready!"

Guile unclenched his electrically-charged hands. Curling his finger slightly, he brought his right wrist nearly touching his left wrist before drawing his arms back altogether.

Tut and Tan stopped spinning their blazing rods.

The electric current streamed to the gap between Guile's cupped hands on his right side, swirling and merging into a purple glowing ball of shock.

"Fire Stream!" Tut and Tan thrust their staves in unison, sending a gush of flame streaming towards Guile.

"Lightning Blast!" Guile thrust his hands, ushering forth a wave of lightning.

Both beams hurtled towards one another and…

BOOM!

An explosion occurred as the blasts connected. The impact blew the debris on the ground high into the air and sent sparks of red fire and purple lightning off in all directions.

The blasts were now struggling against one another.

"What the hell! His attack is on par with ours!" Tan screamed.

"Focus!" Tut exclaimed.

As Guile heard their shouting, he felt a sudden strong force pushing him back. Watching the red fire roaring and overwhelming his purple lightning, he gritted his teeth.

Apparently, those two guys were speaking the truth all along. They were powerful.

However, Guile remembered that Tut and Tan would hunt down Draggy and Pip after defeating him. And he would hate to see that happening!

_No, I must not lose!_

His thoughts brought about a surge of energy coursing throughout his body. The muscles on his body tensed. His veins bulged and became visible on his sinews.

Guile squinted, before roaring out loud, "You shall not pass!"

Within a split second, more electrical energy crackled around his hands and leapt into his thunderbolt, adding the intensity of Guile's attack. The massive wave of lightning was now pushing the fire away from him.

"Oh, crap! He's really serious, Tut!"

"Stop talking and focus on the spell, Tan!"

Upon hearing that, the fire grew and began consuming Guile's thunderbolt slowly. It was coming closer, closer, and closer… Even Guile could soon feel the heat of the fire. Drops of sweat escaped from his entire body and evaporated soon after.

Guile roared again, struggling to thrust his hands further. Unfortunately, things were no different, even until dull aches overwhelmed his body. It was like he was having cramps.

All of a sudden, he felt that the burden was lighter. His lightning managed to push away the flame a little.

At the same time, he heard a couple of creaky screams followed with a familiar childlike roar.

"Get your hands off me!"

"You're messing up our spell!"

"Draggy is not going to!"

"Damn you! We'll kill you soon!"

"Yeah, you'd better back off. After we're done with this, you'll be very dead, dragon. Veeery dead, to the point you're just a pile of walking bones."

The last few lines were aggravating. Speaking to a child like that? Especially to the child who was his friend and had been kind to him?

Those thoughts sent Guile into a maddening rage. He funneled his anger and roared, shaking the earth and sending shockwaves off in all directions.

At that, the stream of fire flickered as an invisible force diffused the blast into small, harmless sparks of flame.

In a flash, Guile's lightning bolt made its way through the flickering sparks of the fire effortlessly.

"Oh, crap!"

And what was audible soon after were a loud snap and agonizing screams. Guile's thunderbolt blasted Tut and Tan and disintegrated them into a cloud of glowing molecules.

At the same time, the explosion yielded arches of purple lightning rippling in all directions.

Soon, the electric waves dissipated. The mist that once surrounded the area had faded as well.

It was over.

Panting, Guile lowered his arms and inspected his surroundings. Apparently, the battle had altered many things. Fissures were visible on ground beneath him, while the path in front of him was scorched with trails of smoke escaping from the charred area. The hedge surrounding the stony path had disappeared and left behind countless amounts of leaves and twigs. Further behind, there were bare trees with cracks on their trunks.

But further in front of him, the view was unpleasant for Guile. Behind a large, shallow crater with a cloud of molecules hovering above it, Draggy and Pip were lying side by side on the ground. Both of them remained motionless as smoke came out of their burns.

Looking at this, Guile gasped. His attack might have caused this.

With tears overflowing in his eyes, Guile leapt into the air and glided towards the unconscious Draggy and Pip. He would never forgive himself if Draggy and Pip were dead because of him.

Landing on the ground and kneeling down, he spoke shakily, "Draggy, Pip, s-s-speak to me!"

No answer.

At this, Guile gritted his teeth and let tears trickle down his cheek. He had done something unforgivable to his friends, even though it was just an accident.

Suddenly, Guile remembered the heap of molecules from the destroyed Tutanshaman Brothers. Standing up, he looked back. Right. The particles were still there.

At this, Guile instinctively wrapped his arms on Draggy's body and tried to carry him, but to no avail. Even until beads of sweat were streaming down his temple and his muscles ached, he only managed to lift the dragon a few centimeters above the ground.

But he suddenly had an idea. It was not the best he could think of, but there was no choice.

Releasing Draggy, Guile muttered, "I am sorry if this hurts, Draggy…"

With that, he picked Pip up with a hand and held Draggy's paw with his other hand. Dragging the dragon along, he ran towards the floating mound of particles.

As rough scraping noises of scales and rocks were audible, Guile let more tears stream down his cheeks and shouted, "I am truly sorry, Draggy!"

Guile suddenly stopped on his tracks. After uttering another 'sorry', he slid Draggy towards the cloud of molecules like a person launching a bowling ball. It took less than a minute for Draggy to stop perfectly in the midst of the particles.

After that, he threw Pip at the particles weakly. Fortunately, his calculation was right; Pip landed on Draggy's back.

Guile stood still, watching the molecules entering Draggy's and Pip's bodies. Slowly, the amount of particles was dwindling, dwindling, and…everything was gone.

Moments later, Pip stood up and looked around. "What happened?"

Soon, Draggy also stood up, dropping the standing Pip to the ground accidentally. "Draggy also felt hurt earlier… What happened?"

Looking at this, Guile ran towards them and asked, "Are you all right?"

Draggy turned and nodded. "Draggy is okay."

"Yeah!" Pip answered, rising to feet.

Guile smiled. "I am glad."

"Um, Guile? You cried?" Pip suddenly asked.

Guile wiped his face with an arm. "Yes, because I was worried about you." He looked at Draggy. "But next time, if I tell you to hide, please do. Imagine if Ari saw you like that, Draggy."

"But Draggy is afraid that Guile will lose and die!" Draggy replied. "Guile is very kind to Draggy and Pip, and we don't want to lose Guile!"

"Draggy, actually, it does not matter," Guile calmly said. "It takes more than a powerful fire spell to kill me."

"But Guile was losing earlier," Draggy insisted.

"If that fire spell reached me, I could still fight back." Guile laughed softly. "I could use a technique that I had just discovered." He clenched his right hand and raised it. "The Tremor Fist."

"What's that?" Pip asked.

Draggy blinked. "Was that what Guile used to beat Skelly?"

Guile nodded.

"That attack is good!" Draggy threw his arms in the air and waved them. "Guile breaks Skelly's bones with that!"

Guile held his arm with his other hand. "However, I may need to practice it regularly so that it has no drawbacks. When I used it earlier, I hurt my arm."

Draggy let out an 'oh' and nodded.

"Now, let us go back to the shed," Guile said, walking past Draggy and Pip. "That is probably the safest option now."

"Okay," Draggy and Pip replied in unison.

ooo

"I really like it without Haruko!" Starky cheered, sitting on the wooden desk in front of Chikara whilst leaning against a stack of textbooks. "Thank you so much, Chikara!"

Chikara remained silent as he went tapping his fingers on the desk, looking at his math homework vacantly.

"Aren't you happy that I'm finally free from her?" Starky asked.

With his sight still locked on the fractions and numbers on the book, Chikara replied, "Sort of."

"Sort of?"

Chikara leaned back and sighed. "Well, I'm happy because you're free, but also, I'm sad because Haruko cries."

A pause.

Suddenly, Starky began, "Chikara, I wonder if there is another Chrono Cross element for her."

"Why?" Chikara asked. It was so unusual of Starky to speak like that.

"Maybe she can get a friend like how you get me," Starky responded. "We're friends, yeah!"

Chikara gritted his teeth at that statement. He was angry, but unable to speak his true feelings out. He was upset because Starky spoke without considering Haruko's inability to handle a partner, as shown by the way she treated Starky. However, at the same time, Chikara realized that Starky was regarding him as his friend.

Closing his eyes, Chikara muttered, "Maybe she'd better off without a partner."

"Eh?"

"She'll probably treat her partner like how she treats you."

Starky rubbed his cyan fishbowl-like helmet with a hand.

"Can you imagine?" Chikara opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling of the room emptily. "For example, she gets someone like you, and she'll probably force him to wear a pink dress with a bonnet."

No answer.

"Starky, you can imagine how her partner will feel. Just like how you feel when she treats you like that."

Silence.

Chikara sighed, before returning his attention to Starky. "She isn't suitable for this kind of thing."

Starky nodded. "I guess you're right."

"Also, Starky… There's one thing I've been wondering," Chikara muttered. "You said that we're friends, right?"

"Uh huh?"

"Dad said that your evolution depended heavily on my emotions and my bond with you," Chikara continued. "Do you think that because we're friends, you evolve?"

"Hmm…" Starky put a hand on the back of his helmet. "Maybe it's because you were so angry when Guile was about to kill me. You didn't want me to die, right?"

Chikara nodded slightly. "Perhaps you're right."

A pause.

Suddenly, Chikara began, "There's another thing. After evolving, you went wild. I told you to stop beating Guile up, but you didn't hear me."

Starky stood up abruptly and waved his hands. "What? What did you mean with that?"

"You were so dangerous when you evolved," Chikara said. "Now, I'm trying to figure out what caused that rampage. Otherwise, it won't be safe to let you evolve, even if you become stronger."

Starky bowed down.

"Starky?" Chikara asked.

"Chikara, I…I lied," Starky muttered.

Chikara slammed his fists to the table. "You! You can't be serious!"

"I pretended to be wild because I thought you wanted Guile got hurt so that Yoshino would show her sympathy," Starky replied silently.

Chikara gulped as he found out that Starky understood him more than he understood the alien. Yes, his intention of fighting Guile was actually an attempt to reconcile Guile and Yoshino. And Starky did it, even without having to tell him directly…although Starky went a bit too far.

"I see…" Chikara murmured, before smiling. "So, I guess you really understand me, huh?"

Starky nodded. "Sure, that's what friends are for, right?"

Chikara laughed softly and pet Starky's head. "I think that's why you can evolve, so…I guess things are settled!"

"Anyway, Chikara, sorry for lying to you," Starky added.

"Forget about it," Chikara said, still smiling. "It's not entirely your fault."

ooo

The room was large with cobwebs hanging on its corners. Bookshelves were standing and leaning against the grimy white wall. Both empty and 'junk-filled' cardboards were scattered throughout in the room.

"Dad collects many things, doesn't he?" Nana asked, wiping the dust off a bookshelf with a feather duster.

Carrying a boxful of Chinese martial artist figurines, Yoshino walked towards the corner without saying anything.

"Sonny? Why are you so silent?" Nana questioned.

"Nothing… I'm just…a bit sleepy," Yoshino answered. That was obviously a lie, but she had no choice. Her grandma might either ask a lot or tell her not to fantasize too much if she told her about Guile.

"But when this is done, you can just wake up late tomorrow," Nana replied.

Putting down the box in the corner of the room, Yoshino said, "No… I plan to go to Shinjuku Park tomorrow morning."

"Eh?"

"I've promised to meet my friend there," Yoshino continued quietly.

Silence.

Suddenly, Nana chuckled. "I guess meeting some friends will cheer you up tomorrow. Don't you think so?"

Yoshino responded with a nod. Truth be told, she was not going to meet some friends. She was just trying to _befriend_ the one whom she treated very badly a while back. Hopefully, he would forgive her.

"Yoshino?"

"I think you're right," Yoshino said, turning around to pick up another 'junk-filled' cardboard from the mess.

Picking up the box, Yoshino's eyes widened in a shock after seeing what was in it. There was a thin book, on which cover the words 'My Biggest Dream in 2015 by Jirou Kobayashi' were visible. Below it, a PS console with two joysticks and a memory card rested.

Yoshino put down the cardboard and took the book out. She flipped the cover and read the contents.

_"Dream whatever is impossible, and with a little miracle, it will come true. This is my belief._

_I draw and write what is impossible in the next page. People are sure to call me mad when they read this book, but I still believe that a miracle will happen."_

Yoshino flipped the page, and upon seeing what was there, her hands trembled as tears began welling in her eyes.

There was an uncolored, hand-drawn picture of a bald man in glasses and a doctor's coat making a peace sign with his right hand, grinning. On his left side, a short-haired woman in a doctor's coat was standing with an arm wrapped along the waist of the man. In front of the woman, a little girl stood, smiling widely.

But what hit Yoshino hard was not the picture of herself with her father and mother. Beside her, a very familiar man was crouching with a hand touching the floor and smiling. It was the long-haired man in a domino mask whom she knew well.

And what made it worse was the text below the drawing.

_"I_ _bet you're surprised with the man who's beside Yoshino. Yep, it's a character from the video game Chrono Cross, to be exact._

_If you don't know yet, this man's name is Guile. Little is known about him, but my intuition says that he is a lone wanderer. He doesn't speak much and is often aloof in a bar. He doesn't have many friends, and so far, I only know that he has only one friend: a fortuneteller. He probably makes a few more pals after knowing Serge, the protagonist of this game._

_Some people believe that he is an amnesiac mage who is searching for his dear sister. Do you know about this? I'll give you a brief explanation. This mage never has a happy family. His father is dead. His mother is mad. The only person he can trust; his sister, is gone because of his megalomaniac mom. In my opinion, this poor guy probably just wants a family in his life._

_But even if Guile isn't the mage whom people often talk about, he is still a lonely person according to my intuition. He probably longs for a happy family, but can't speak much about it. You know, which person doesn't cry when admitting something he has been dreaming for? Anyway, if a miracle really happens and he appears in the real world, I'll be glad to welcome him to our family._

_If that happens, it isn't just a good thing for him, but also for me. Doctors are always busy, and unless I am around, my mother-in-law takes care of Yoshino. So, if there's Guile, he can probably accompany her when I'm away._

_Call me crazy, but you'll never know what will happen in the future, right? Besides, recently I hear that the genius programmer Hachiro Jikan is developing a Chrono Cross fan game. Who knows that something goes wrong with his fan game, and the characters will all appear in the real world?"_

"Daddy, no!" Yoshino let tears stream down her cheeks as she fell to knees. "I…I've been doing the opposite things! Daddy, they must be something unforgivable for you!"

For a moment, only Yoshino's cry was audible throughout the storeroom.

Suddenly, Nana placed a hand on Yoshino's shoulder and asked, "What's wrong?"

Yoshino turned and hugged her grandmother immediately. "I did something horrible! If Dad is still here, he'll be very sad!"

Nana returned the hug and asked, "What do you mean?"

"Grandma…" Yoshino muttered, still sobbing. "This is something crazy, but…I met a video game character a while back. And that character was Dad's favorite."

"No problem, I trust you," Nana replied, stroking Yoshino's back. "Then, what's wrong with that?"

There was a pause, before Yoshino answered, "I…treated him like an animal, or something like that."

"What? You must be lying!" Nana exclaimed, her eyes widening in shock.

"No, it's true, grandma." Yoshino sobbed. "I neglected him, threw him a pail of cold water whenever he overslept, called him a 'wimp' whenever he almost lost a fight, and even forced him to keep fighting when he was visibly hurt. But still…" She suddenly cried out loud, "…he didn't complain about that! He just did whatever I told him to, except the last moments before he left me!"

"Yoshino, why are you like that?" Nana yelled, her gentle face suddenly turned into a fierce one. "That is unforgivable!"

"Because of him, I didn't get to call the most powerful character from the game to the real world! That upset me!" Yoshino cried out. "Besides, I thought having him around would provide me experience in the recently popular Battle Board game!"

Nana stammered, "J-just what are you thinking about? Y-you became a monster just because of _that_? And then, you used him as a learning resource _without thanking him_?"

Yoshino nodded.

"How terrible you are!" Nana released Yoshino and slapped her afterwards.

Yoshino remained silent. She completely agreed with her grandma that her acts were irredeemable.

"Don't you know? Everybody in the household is a doctor, and we're expecting you to be a doctor too in the future," Nana said, her voice growing calmer. "But then, you sprang into a rage just because of a small thing. And you are selfish." She suddenly screamed, "Can you imagine what kind of doctor you'll be if you're like that? You'll end up harming the patients instead of saving them!"

A pause.

"If I tell your mom about this, I can't imagine how upset she'll be," Nana continued in a calmer voice. "But I won't tell her about this. However, I want you to do something."

"Yes…" Yoshino murmured.

"Find that person and apologize to him," Nana said. "Where is he?"

"He must still be at Shinjuku Park," Yoshino answered.

"Hmm…" Nana stroked her chin. "It's impossible to go there now, so…do it tomorrow. Besides, you're going there too, right?"

"Yes, it was actually my plan," Yoshino muttered. "That's why I want to go to Shinjuku Park tomorrow."

"Huh?" Nana raised an eyebrow.

"I started to feel bad when you said Dad had a PS console. Dad always mentioned a character that just sounded like this man from the game in this system," Yoshino said.

"You didn't know that your dad had a PS console?" Nana asked.

Yoshino shook her head. "If I knew that, I wouldn't have treated that person so badly."

"What the…" Nana paused, before screaming, "Don't tell me that if it's not because of your dad, you'll still treat him badly!"

Yoshino gulped as she began to tremble. Her grandma was right.

Nana sighed. "Seems like you are. This isn't just bad, but this is _ridiculous_." She paused. "I know he is just a character from a video game, but the way you treat him shows how terrible you are as a person."

Silence.

"I bet it's a miracle if he forgives you." Nana closed her eyes and shrugged. "I don't think your dad is happy if he's still alive and knows this." She picked up the thin book and looked at it for a moment.

Yoshino remained silent as tears were still streaming down her cheeks. Crying for so long had made her throat dry and hurt. Even her eyes were now red.

"Telling you one thing, sonny." Nana put down the book. "Your dad cared for this character not because of the influence from someone else. It's mainly because he empathized with him. That's what a good doctor must do: showing empathy to the patients."

A brief pause.

"Do you think your dad will be happy if you like this character just because of him?" Nana asked.

Yoshino shook her head in response.

"Good that you understand," Nana said flatly. "Anyway, you must apologize to him. If he doesn't forgive you, well, you have to accept it because it's your fault."

A long pause.

"Forget about it for now." Nana opened her eyes. "We need to clean up this storeroom soon."

Yoshino stood up and nodded.

Wiping the tears from her eyes with a hand, she wondered if she could show her true love to Guile. That was probably the only way to receive Guile's forgiveness…

But what should she do? Pleading to him?

Probably not. That sounded whiny and pathetic.

"Get back to work!"

That calling snapped Yoshino out of her thoughts.

Walking towards the pile of cardboards, Yoshino thought it would be better if she tried to figure out the solution after this.

ooo


	11. The Master Explains It All

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> At Shinjuku Park, Hachiro gives the children a lecture about evolution, which leads to a sparring match between Draggy and Starky.

Cardboards and wires filled this rather silent rectangular room. Only the rumbling sounds of a CPU were audible in this warehouse-like chamber.

Right now, Hachiro was sitting still on the chair in front of his computer desk. With a hand on his chin, he was wondering about an unbelievable issue.

_I just can't believe it… Yoshino is being mean to Guile?_

If it were not his son telling him about this, he would not have believed it. First of all, Yoshino's father, Jirou Kobayashi, was a huge fan of Guile.

But that was not the biggest problem. Jirou was a compassionate doctor, and it was probably his kind heart that made him empathize with Guile. But why was Yoshino far so different from him?

Thinking of this gave Hachiro a headache. In a fit of rage, he slammed his fists on the plastic desk. "I have to snap Yoshino out of this! Besides, if she remains like this in her life, she can never be a good doctor like her father!"

Beep!

Hearing this, Hachiro instantly looked at the monitor. There was a new inbox message. He clicked on it and read it for a moment.

_"So, two out of three beings are now capable of evolving. I bet they are all doing well with the kids."_

Hachiro gasped at the message. Yes, Draggy and Starky were fine, but Guile appeared to have a serious problem.

However, Hachiro would rather speak the truth, although it would not sound nice for Luccia. Who knew that she could help giving a solution to solve Guile's problem?

He mashed the keys on the keyboard rapidly.

_"Draggy and Starky are fine, but Guile is not. I heard from my son that his partner was very mean towards him."_

After that, he clicked on the 'send' button.

For a few minutes, Hachiro sat idly on his chair, waiting for Luccia to reply the message.

Beep!

Hachiro clicked on the message and read it.

_"That doesn't sound good. If I may know, does the gadget which belongs to Guile's partner shatter? If it does, this means that they are no longer together."_

Hachiro let out a 'huh'. He did not know anything about it, but maybe he could ask Chikara and Starky about this, although he was certain that they also knew nothing.

Or perhaps they knew. Starky's words seemed to imply this kind of incident.

_"Yeah, but Guile is now free from that meanie!"_

But Hachiro would not tell something he doubted. He stood up and turned around, walking towards the exit door of his computer room.

As he opened the door, he saw Chikara standing still with his hand raised and balled slightly.

Smirking, Chikara said, "Eh, sorry, Dad! I didn't mean anything! I was just about to knock the door and tell you to have dinner together with us."

"Never mind," Hachiro replied. "Tell Mom and Haruko that I'll join later."

"Okay." With that, Chikara turned around.

However, before he could walk away, Hachiro said, "Wait a minute, Chikara."

Chikara looked at Hachiro. "Yes?"

"I have a question," Hachiro calmly spoke. "By any chance you know about the condition of Yoshino's gadget?"

"Huh?" Chikara blinked. "It's odd, but it shattered. I couldn't understand why such thing happened."

"I see," Hachiro muttered. "Okay, don't worry about it for now."

"Yes," Chikara responded, before turning around. "I'll go to have dinner first, Dad. Don't forget to have yours too."

Hachiro nodded, before reentering his room. He then closed the door gently and walked towards his computer desk.

Sitting down, he began typing a message.

_"Yes, the gadget shattered. I wonder if it can reform again."_

After that, he clicked on the 'send' button.

Upon doing so, Hachiro held his head. Just what had Yoshino done to the point her gadget had to shatter?

"Guile, if things don't go well for you, I'm very sorry," Hachiro muttered. "I should've chosen someone else for you."

At this, Hachiro closed his eyes as he recalled the content of Luccia's message about Guile.

_"I am writing this under Lady Riddel's request. Now that you have received the Chrono Cross element and known its effect, we want you to do a favor._

_Find someone whom you think as a kind person in a loving family. If the person has something you call 'Battle Board' and the character is Guile, give him/her the element._

_Lady Riddel requests this because as you know, Guile is an unhappy person in his heart. Three years ago, he lost to Lady Riddel in the finals of El Nido Wizard Tournament at Magic Guild, but I was impressed that he deliberately did it for an odd yet honorable reason._

_When the match was over, his mother was upset at his performance and yelled at him for holding back in the fight. But Guile insisted that dueling would risk Lady Riddel's well-being, while her father, Lord Viper, had helped him many times when he was young._

_Unfortunately, things did not go well. His mother said that Guile was no different from his real father, whose similar acts led to his death. After that, she cast a self-destruct spell in an attempt to kill everybody. It turned the island where Magic Guild once was into a deserted place, while Lady Riddel barely saved us and Guile with her magic._

_When Guile realized that his mother had killed herself in front of him, he lost his sanity. He screamed all day and smashed the objects at Viper Manor with his fists, injuring himself as well. It took Sir Glenn, Sir Karsh, Sir Zoah, Miss Marcy, and a few Acacia Dragoons to hold him so that I could inject tranquilizer on him. Due to our fear, we even had to strap him to a bed._

_When he woke up, he remained creepily silent and kept giving out empty glares. It took about a day to snap him out of it, but by the time we did, he asked us to release him. We were confused, but he said that he only wanted to return to where he came from. Then we decided that he probably needed some time to be alone, so we let him leave._

_Since then, he had never visited us, but we believed that he probably had been less stressful._

_So, please find a loving family for Guile. Hopefully, with them, he would be more emotionally stable and grow stronger as well._

_Don't worry; I'm sure that he's ready for this. I've sent him an anonymous letter and told him to follow the directions. If he does, everything should go well for him unless…he is unlucky."_

Hachiro opened his eyes and stood up, walking towards a cardboard beside his desk. Crouching, he shuffled through the tattered documents. After a minute of digging, he picked up a few sheets of ragged, yellowish paper.

Looking at the contents, he muttered, "I think this is my fault too. I should've modified the script when I programmed Guile." He gripped the papers tightly, scrunching them. "A normal person of course, can't stand losing his family over and over again!"

Beep!

Hachiro stood up and returned to his seat. As he sat on his chair, he placed the papers on the desk before clicking on the new message.

_"It can, only if Guile and his partner decide to be together again. The gadget itself is never destroyed because it represents the bond between the human partner and the being. When two people have befriended each other and they suddenly break up, in their hearts, they can still think about each other. The broken bond is just like the gadget; it still exists even when it has shattered."_

Hachiro smiled at the message. That was indeed, good news.

_So, tomorrow I'll only need to talk to Yoshino… I guess I have another phone to call before having dinner._

Looking at the ragged papers, Hachiro spoke silently, "For a good measure, I'll bring these in case my words fail to reach Yoshino tomorrow."

ooo

Yoshino was standing, looking through the window of her bedroom.

Looking at the tree where she first saw Guile, she muttered, "Guile, I was very cruel to you, wasn't I?"

Silence.

With tears brimming in her eyes, she continued quietly, "I truly wish that you hear me now. I…" She paused momentarily, before sobbing. "I wonder if you'll forgive me. I just think that my acts are terrible."

All of a sudden, she heard a woman's voice calling her name loudly.

In response, Yoshino turned and rushed towards the exit door of her room. Was there anything wrong happening?

As she stepped out of her bedroom, she found her grandma hanging up a phone and looking at her.

"You've finally heard my voice, eh?" Nana asked. "Really, sonny, you're just getting increasingly weird."

Yoshino bowed down.

"Anyway, the phone call was from Hachiro Jikan," Nana said. "I guess you know him, huh?"

Yoshino nodded slightly. She did not know the name Hachiro, but the surname, Jikan, was the same with Chikara's, her junior.

"We talked a lot about you and that game character," Nana spoke calmly. "He said that he learnt many things from his son."

There was a pause as Yoshino tried to interpret what her grandma was talking about. _Son? Could Hachiro be Chikara's father?_

"By the way, his son's name is Chikara," Nana added.

Yoshino gasped at the remark. She had not been nice towards Chikara either.

"I…I was being so ill-mannered, right?" she stammered.

"Correct," Nana answered. "However, Hachiro wants to help you."

Yoshino raised her head. "Help me?"

"Yep, he hopes that with his help, you can get along well with that character," Nana replied. "He wants to meet you at Shinjuku Park tomorrow."

A weak smile crept to Yoshino's face as tears trickled down her cheeks. "I'm glad… Thank you so much."

"However, there's no guarantee that his plan will work, okay?" Nana said mockingly. "You've been outrageously cruel, and if the game character doesn't forgive you even after you've had Hachiro's help, it's legitimate."

Yoshino nodded. Without saying anything, she turned and walked towards her bedroom.

Judging from her grandma's voice, it appeared that apologizing would be useless… No, not yet! She had not even tried talking to Guile about it.

In short, she believed that he _might_ forgive her.

_Whatever it takes, I'll show Guile that I'm no longer the cruel person I used to be!_

ooo

It was Sunday.

The morning breeze blew, sending dust flying across a bus stop. There was nobody around, except one.

Sitting on a bench with a leather rucksack resting beside him, Ari looked at the empty streets blankly.

Scratching his head, Ari wondered out loud, "I'm pretty sure that it's 8.30 now, but isn't it strange? No bus. There aren't many cars even."

He waited and waited, but soon, he yawned. Sitting still for fifteen minutes was just boring.

As his head dropped down, a familiar voice snapped him out of his drowsiness. "Hey, buddy! Don't fall asleep!"

Looking at his left side, he saw a spiky-haired boy in black t-shirt and breeches walking towards him with a bulky leather sling bag.

"Akira! Aren't you going to have a soccer game with your friends?" Ari asked.

Akira stopped and sat beside Ari. "Nobody has the guts to come out."

"Huh?"

"Many people at West Shinjuku felt a tremor last night," Akira said. "Some claimed that it was just feeling, but most of them were scared."

A tremor… Shinjuku Park was at West Shinjuku… An overgrown dragon was there…

Ari gulped. "It c-can't be! Draggy!"

Akira blinked.

"Draggy is a huge dragon, and it's more than possible for him to cause something like that!" Ari shouted.

"Hey, think positive!" Akira waved his hands, smiling. "Things ain't really clear yet, right?"

Silence.

Akira rubbed the back of his neck. "Maybe it's not Draggy. People are just crazy."

Ari raised an eyebrow. His friend sounded confident and relaxed.

"Sometimes you shouldn't worry too much," Akira added. "It's bad for health, y'know! It'll only make ya stressful!"

Ari nodded slightly. Akira was speaking the right thing.

"Anyway, I'm heading to Shinjuku Park too," Akira spoke. Patting the sling bag beside him, he added, "I also bring medicines, swabs, bandages, etc. Who knows that those characters will get into a bloody fight again? A tube of ointment won't help much if such thing happens."

Ari smiled at Akira's remark. His statement was true; if he had brought those things yesterday, Guile should have received a better treatment for his injuries. However, it would still be wise to bring those items today. Ari believed that Guile might not have recovered so fast.

As Akira stopped talking, the area became quiet again. Only the howling sound of the wind was audible, followed with a few rustles when the breeze blew some plastic bags and leaves across the streets.

All of a sudden, a continuous roar from an engine broke the silence. The area around the bus stop was growing hotter as the stench of exhaust gas was palpable.

Soon, a large white bus stopped in front of Ari and Akira.

"Ha! Finally!" Akira shouted, standing up as the doors of the bus opened.

"Okay, let's go!" Ari said, standing up and following Akira into the bus.

ooo

Once they were inside the bus, the environment was different. Unlike outside, it was cool and free from dust. The air inside was so cold that the windowpanes of the bus were steamy.

The only similarity with outside was that the bus was desolate. The only passengers in the bus seemed to be Ari and Akira…until they heard a familiar boy's voice calling out Ari's name from Ari's right side.

Looking at the source of the voice, Ari saw Chikara hugging a bulky rucksack and sitting beside a grey-haired man with a briefcase on his lap. The two people looked alike due to their sharp noses and apple-shaped chin, except that the older man was wearing a pair of thick-rimmed glasses.

Ari walked towards them and asked, "Chikara and um…mister, er…"

"This is my dad," Chikara said, smiling. "He phoned you yesterday."

Ari let out an 'ah' and nodded.

"Why don't you have a seat first?" Chikara's dad, Hachiro, asked.

"It's easier to talk by standing like this," Akira simply replied.

Hachiro smirked. "That's not the main problem."

"Wha-"

As the bus doors slammed shut, a loud roar of an engine reverberated. The bus accelerated, and at this, Ari and Akira swayed momentarily.

Hachiro covered his mouth with a hand and giggled. "You understand what I mean?"

Akira grabbed the edge of Chikara's seat to regain composure. Meanwhile, Ari's way of keeping his balance was holding Akira's shoulders as if he were playing trains.

"You'd better have a seat until we arrive at Shinjuku Park," Hachiro calmly said. "Besides, it won't be a good idea to discuss _that topic_ here."

Ari nodded, releasing Akira's shoulders before walking towards the leather seats slowly like a drunken old man. He sat down, looked to his left side, and sighed. Akira was still standing beside Chikara and Hachiro.

"Have a seat, unless you think your legs are strong enough to support you until we arrive at Shinjuku Park," Hachiro said jokingly.

Akira grinned. "I do sports almost every day, so I have strong legs!"

"But Akira, what if the bus is suddenly taking a sharp turn or stopping?" Ari asked.

"I can still stand," Akira replied.

SCREECH!

The bus stopped in front of a traffic light abruptly.

But that was not what Ari was interested in. He preferred seeing how Akira would react at this.

It was a rather funny sight to behold. For a moment, Akira was like a swaying piece of cloth, teetering from side to side.

Suddenly, Akira turned and released his grip on the edge of the seat. "Fine. I give up."

Ari giggled as he watched Akira walking towards him with a sulky face.

"Nothing's funny, buddy," Akira mumbled, sitting on the seat beside Ari.

ooo

Streaks of sunlight peeked into the shed through the iron prison-like door, bringing warmth with them.

But for a sleeping Draggy, it was already warm. There was something smooth and comfy covering his body, leaving only his head uncovered.

Hey, there was a blanket? Draggy was pretty sure that there was no such thing when he fell asleep after running around with Pip for hours!

Snapping his eyes open, Draggy pushed away the smooth blanket and stood up. Apparently, it was a white silk coat, which had been a comfy cover for him.

But whose coat was that?

"You're awake, Draggy?" a gentle voice asked.

Draggy turned and saw a shirtless Guile walking towards him with a sleeping Pip cradled in his arms.

"Um, this is Guile's coat?" Draggy asked.

Guile nodded and gave out a gentle smile; the type of smile that a father would show to a child.

"Eh? How can Guile's coat be here?" Draggy questioned again.

"It was a bit cold last night, so I let you use it as a blanket," Guile answered. "The chilling weather was also why I held Pip close to me. I was afraid that he might catch a cold."

"Cold?" Draggy blinked momentarily, before adding, "If it were cold, why Guile didn't wear the coat?"

"Your well-being is the most important," Guile replied. "Besides, I can withstand cold weather without my coat."

"But Guile mustn't get sick too!" Draggy argued.

"It is…fine for me." Guile sat on the concrete floor, his legs crossed. "I just don't like seeing good children like you and Pip suffering."

Silence.

"Just forget about it, Draggy," Guile muttered. "I'm glad as long as you and Pip are healthy."

All of a sudden, a shrill shriek reverberated, prompting Guile to stand up and turn.

"Guile?" Draggy stood up as well. "What's wrong?"

"There is something outside," Guile replied, leaping into the air.

"Guile is going out? Draggy will follow!" Draggy said, spreading his wings.

There was a pause before Guile responded with a 'fine'. With that, he flew out of the shed quickly.

Looking at this, Draggy jumped and flapped his wings rapidly to catch up with Guile.

In less than five seconds, they made it out of the shed. Outside, they saw a child kneeling on the scorched ground with his head bowed and both of his hands placed on the floor.

"T-that's…" Guile stuttered, before gliding towards the child at frightening speed. "Ari!"

Draggy blinked. "Ari? That's Ari?" Soon, he also followed Guile. "Draggy is coming to Ari!"

Guile stopped and landed steadily in front of the child. However, Draggy flew past Guile and rammed the child lightly on the head.

"Ari! Draggy is here!" Draggy shouted, landing on the ground with both of his feet.

"Draggy? Is that you, Draggy?" Ari asked, raising his head and revealing his teary eyes.

Draggy nodded. "Why is Ari crying?"

"I…" Suddenly, Ari got up and hugged Draggy. "I was so worried about you! When I saw the mess here, I thought you were-"

Draggy returned the hug. "Draggy is okay. There's Guile."

"But he's still hurt!" Ari screamed.

Draggy released Ari and said, "Not anymore. Guile ate Skelly's bones and got well!"

"Eh?" Ari blinked. "Ate…Skelly's…bones?"

Two questions popped up in Ari's mind. First, bones were inedible, and how could Guile eat them? Second, if there were Skelly's bones, perhaps there had been a fight?

In short, Draggy's remark only made Ari's eyes widen in disbelief.

"Draggy poorly worded what happened yesterday." Guile smiled, walking towards Ari. "I crushed Skelly's bones and absorbed the remnants. I was healed thanks to that." He paused momentarily. "Skelly is still alive, but he can't do anything only with his skull."

Silence.

Ari thought it was too silly to believe in it, but a careful look at Guile's body convinced him that it was not a lie. There was no single wound on Guile's chiseled torso.

"Don't worry too much, Ari," Guile said. "I won't let anything hurt Draggy." He looked at the sleeping Pip in his hands. "I won't let any harm happen to Pip as well."

"But…" Ari muttered, before saying aloud, "That must have been rough for you!" He rushed towards Guile and wrapped his arms around the latter's narrow waist. Crying, he yelled, "You didn't even walk right when we left you yesterday!"

"That's…fine for me," Guile replied, looking at Ari and smiling tearfully. "Such injuries won't stop me from taking care of Draggy and Pip."

Ari spent a moment crying softly into Guile's flat yet toned abdomen and hugging him tightly.

Suddenly, a childlike voice broke the silence. "Huh? Why is everybody crying?"

Hearing that, Ari leaned back and let go of Guile. He looked at the source of the voice and saw that Pip had woken up.

"Everybody is crying!" Pip added.

"I cried because I was so worried!" Ari bawled.

"Why is Guile crying too?" Pip asked.

Guile blushed and almost dropped Pip from his hands. "Er, eh…" He chuckled. "No, er… The wind has just, uh, blown dust and sand into my eyes."

"Really?" Pip asked again.

"You talked a bit strangely, Guile," Ari commented, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, Guile cried when Ari said something," Draggy added.

Guile closed his eyes and smiled. "I think I can't tell a lie, so I'll speak the truth." He then opened his eyes gently. "When someone shows genuine kindness to me, I am touched. I just…like it."

"Oh." Ari nodded. It was weird to know that Guile liked being loved, but right now, Ari believed that he might make Guile cry if he asked the reason.

All of a sudden, a couple of shouts echoed across the park.

Ari turned and saw Akira, Hachiro, and Chikara running towards him, Draggy, and Guile.

"Sorry for being late, Ari," Hachiro said. "We observed the surroundings, and it seemed to be a real mess."

"Yeah, this must be related to the tremor here yesterday," Akira added.

"Um, don't you notice something?" Chikara asked. "Draggy has shrunk."

"What?" Ari gasped and turned his attention to Draggy. Yes, Draggy had shrunk.

Chikara snickered. "I bet you were so panicked that you didn't notice it."

Akira walked towards Draggy and patted the dragon's back. "Really, Ari. You shouldn't be such a nervous wreck. You see? Things don't always go as bad as you think!" He looked at Draggy. "Right, Draggy?"

Draggy nodded.

"B-but…" Ari stammered. "How could Draggy shrink?"

"Actually, Draggy was starving yesterday. I was too late to return with food." Guile frowned slightly. "I felt sorry for leaving Draggy like that, but it appeared to be a fortune in disguise."

"Ah." Hachiro nodded and stroked his chin. "My guess is right."

Ari let out a 'huh' and blinked.

"An evolved character will shrink when his body has lost too much energy," Hachiro said. "There are several things that can cause the loss: injury, hunger, and exhaustion."

"But isn't it terrible to let an evolved character shrink like that?" Ari asked. "Isn't there another way?"

"There is," Hachiro answered. "I've developed a program to make the evolved character shrink without having to suffer." He sat on the floor and placed his briefcase beside him. "All of you have a seat too. This will be very long, and I understand if you fall asleep in process."

Watching Hachiro taking a laptop out of his briefcase, Akira sneered. "Oh, mister. Is it really that long and boring?"

Hachiro placed his laptop on the ground. "We'll wait and see."

"Talking about boring, I'd better take Starky out of my bag now," Chikara said, sitting on the ground and holding his bulky rucksack in front of him. As he unzipped the bag, he gawked with his eyes on the verge of popping out.

"Chikara?" Ari asked.

"STARKY!" Chikara yelled at Starky, who was sleeping inside his bag with a pile of candy and chocolate wraps as a cushion.

Starky opened his eyes. "It's so boring inside, so I thought that eating these candies and chocolates would make me less bored."

Chikara picked Starky up by his body and yelled, "I brought those for everybody, not just you!"

"I didn't eat too much. Just check your bag," Starky said nonchalantly.

Chikara grumbled and looked into his rucksack. Sure, there were just loads of plastic wraps in it, but surrounding the rubbish, there were many intact bags of candies, chocolates, and cookies.

"What do you think?" Starky asked.

"Uh, okay then." Chikara sighed. "But next time, don't eat my stuff without my permission!"

"Chikara," Hachiro called.

Chikara looked at his dad, whose laptop had a red gadget plugged on its left side.

"Don't worry about food right now," Hachiro said calmly. "After this, Starky will have to use much energy."

"Why?" Chikara asked.

Hachiro looked at Ari, who was sitting on the ground with Akira, Draggy, Guile, and Pip beside him.

"Oh, yeah. While you're busy talking to Starky about your candies and chocolates, mister wants our characters to spar," Ari said.

"Sparring? You mean Draggy and Starky will fight each other?" Chikara asked.

Hachiro nodded. "Sparring is beneficial. Your characters can be stronger and more skillful that way."

"At first, I was really against this because this would hurt both Draggy and Starky, but…" Ari paused for a while. "…mister said that when a character was injured, they would grow tougher after recovering. There's also a solution for healing them."

"It's subtle anyway," Hachiro said. "Unless the character is gravely wounded, his endurance will only improve a bit."

"Gravely…wounded?" Guile questioned.

Everybody looked at Guile, speechless at his reaction towards Hachiro's remark.

Suddenly, Akira managed to comment, "Guile was seriously injured yesterday, but he had recovered. I think he must be very tough now."

"How serious?" Hachiro asked.

"Lotsa bruises with broken ribs," Akira answered.

"And at night, Skelly came. Guile tried to protect Draggy and Pip, but Skelly beat Guile up and made Draggy's fireball hit Guile," Draggy added. He then spoke cheerfully, "Luckily Guile thought of a very cool attack and broke Skelly's bones with it!"

"And then, Guile's foot was bleeding because he gave his blood to Draggy," Pip continued. "He didn't want Draggy to be hungry."

"What the hell!" Ari screamed as tears were visible in his eyes. Looking at Guile, he yelled, "You did all that just for Draggy? And you even gave him your blood?"

Guile bowed slightly. "Not just for Draggy, but also for you. You've been very kind to me, and I truly appreciate that."

Ari snapped at Guile, "You don't have to go that far! Don't you know that you're risking your life that way?"

"It's…an instinct," Guile replied silently, bowing to the point his sight was only at his crossed legs.

"That's really stupid, you know!" Ari yelled. "Why are you going so far like that?"

"Ari, stop that!" Hachiro roared. "There are many things Guile can't easily let out, so…calm down!"

"Listen to my dad, Ari," Chikara suggested.

"There is something I want to tell you about Guile, but I don't think Guile is ready to listen about it," Hachiro said. "I'll elaborate it when he has found something he longs for."

"Don't mention anything about it even if you know it, sir," Guile mumbled.

"Looks like we can't talk a lot right now, but let's forget about it," Hachiro said. "Uh, where are we now?"

"About sparring and growing tougher," Chikara replied.

"Hmm, I remember now," Hachiro uttered. "Talking about Guile's injuries, they should have made him much tougher than yesterday because he seemed to have recovered."

"And he said something about absorbing Skelly's bones," Ari added. "His recovery has something in common with it?"

Hachiro nodded. "Absorbing data is like having a meal. It's also good for healing injuries."

"Oh, that makes sense!" Ari exclaimed.

"And I thought I heard Draggy saying Guile attacking Skelly with a cool move," Akira remarked. "I wonder what move it is."

"Hmm…?" Guile raised his head, revealing his droopy face.

Looking at Guile, Ari said, "I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings, Guile. I just went too far earlier, because I was also worried about you."

Hearing that, Guile smiled slightly. "It's…fine. Thank you for your concern, but please don't worry too much about me next time."

"That's right," Hachiro said. "Guile has survived such serious wounds and recovered. You can imagine how resilient he is now."

"Basically, Guile is already very tough," Chikara said. "He even shrugged off Starky's Raydiation. Then, he survived Starky's thrashings."

"Hey, guys! Don't forget about me!" Akira complained. "I'm really curious about the cool move Draggy mentioned!"

Guile clenched his right hand and raised his fist. "The name is Tremor Fist. It's similar to casting an earth spell that involves breaking the ground."

"Then what makes it different from an earth spell?" Akira asked.

"An earth spell often involves a punch that creates invisible shockwaves with the capability of destroying any solid objects nearby," Guile answered. "As for this Tremor Fist, instead of hitting the ground, I strike the foe with my fist."

"And the foe 'breaks' like the earth because of the shockwaves! Oh, wow! That sounds awesome!" Akira cheered.

"That is a devastating move," Chikara said. "Even if it doesn't manage to kill the foe, it's powerful enough to paralyze the enemy. Imagine having all the bones in your body broken!" He suddenly added, "Oh, invisible shockwaves, right? Your punch is still dangerous if your foe barely dodges it. The shockwave can still shake and damage the bones nearby."

"But there is the drawback," Guile added, pointing at his elbow with his other hand. "After punching, my elbow hurts so much that I can't even move my arm."

"Your elbow hurts?" Akira questioned.

Guile nodded.

"Can you show me how you punch?" Akira asked.

Guile raised an eyebrow. "Why? That is dangerous! I might hurt you!"

"I just suspect that the way you punch is related to your elbow injury," Akira answered.

"But-"

Akira interrupted, "You just need to show the way you punch! It won't be dangerous, really!"

"Guile, trust Akira," Ari assured. "He's very experienced in sports. I'm sure that he can help you refine your attack."

"Do sports include fisticuffs?" Guile asked. "This move will probably go well with some experience in fistfights."

"Fisticuffs?" Akira scratched his head and looked at the sky. "It's not a kind of sport and can't really be taught. It's more like an instinctual ability, and you have to fight a lot with your fists to be more experienced in it." He returned his attention to Guile. "But I can give you some tips in punching techniques if you want."

"You can? I'd like to learn from you," Guile replied, smiling. "Thank you."

Standing up, Akira told Guile, "Anyway, let's head to the forest to train. There are lots of trees for us to use as training dummies!"

Guile nodded and stood up. He walked all his way into the forest area of the park with Akira.

As Guile and Akira began to disappear into the palisade of trees, Pip hopped quickly to follow them. However, Hachiro stopped him.

"Pip, stay here. We need you," Hachiro said.

"Why? I want to stay with Guile," Pip replied.

"Without you, Draggy and Starky can't evolve," Hachiro remarked. "Please understand."

"Besides, Guile has said that his training might be dangerous," Chikara added.

"D-dangerous?" Pip questioned. "Okay, I'll stay here." With that, he galloped towards Draggy, who soon wrapped his scaly arms around the white squirrel.

"As for you, kids, wait a minute," Hachiro said, pulling out Ari's gadget from his laptop and handing it to Ari. "Why don't you have a chat with everyone for a moment while I install the Growth Reversal Program at Chikara's gadget?"

"Um, okay," Ari said. Looking at Chikara handing his white gadget to Hachiro, he began, "About the tremor yesterday, do you think Guile is related to it?"

"I think he is," Chikara replied. "His new move is called 'Tremor Fist', and it's more than possible that he caused the tremor."

"This means that…" Ari turned to Draggy, who was laughing while tossing a laughing Pip into the air and catching him afterwards. "…Draggy didn't do anything bad while I was away!"

"Eh?" Draggy turned his attention to Ari, which resulted in Pip falling to the ground with a soft thud. "Guile said that Draggy and Pip were 'good children'. Guile also said that Ari might be proud of Draggy."

"I think Guile really keeps his promise of taking care of Draggy," Chikara commented, smiling. "Draggy seems to have matured emotionally."

"I'm glad!" Ari cheered. "I really don't know how to thank Guile for everything."

"Fine, all is set," Hachiro suddenly said, handing a white gadget to Chikara. "Now, point your gadget at your characters with the monitor facing them. After that, command your characters to evolve."

"We can evolve that way?" Starky asked.

"I'll give it a try." Chikara stood up and brought his gadget facing Starky. "Evolve, Starky!"

As he said that, Chikara's white gadget shone and shot a web of glowing white threads at Starky. The strings of light surrounded the alien, revolved, and merged, forming a glowing orb that encased him afterwards.

_"Starky evolves!"_

The orb grew from the size of a soccer ball into the size of something that would encase a healthy adult without a problem.

Soon, the sphere shattered, sending luminescent shards flying in all directions. They veered and merged into a pearl-like object, before hovering away and merging with Chikara's gadget.

"It's a success! Starky has evolved!" Chikara exclaimed, looking ahead at the humanoid alien with an oversized single-barreled rifle and bayonet in his hands.

The evolved Starky stood still and nodded. "Don't worry; I'm as tame as a domestic cat."

"It's your turn, Ari," Hachiro said.

Ari stood up and brought his gadget facing Draggy. "Evolve, Draggy!"

As the command left Ari's mouth, Ari's red gadget emitted crimson radiance and released a web of fiery threads towards Draggy. The blazing strings revolved around the dragon before merging and forming a fireball that encased him.

_"Draggy evolves!"_

The fireball bloated abruptly into a giant sphere of flame.

Within a split-second, the orb exploded and sent jets of flame rocketing in all directions. But before they could hit any objects, they veered and flew towards Ari's gadget, merging with it afterwards.

With the fireball's disappearance, Draggy was now visible in his evolved form. He was now a hulking dragon with a pair of large leathery wings.

"Good job, you all," Hachiro praised, shutting his laptop. "Now, let them spar for a while and after that, I'll teach you how to activate the Growth Reversal Program."

"Oh, before that, I'll tell you something, Ari," Chikara said. "I'm sure you've known about 'Element Swipe', right?"

"I saw you doing that a while back," Ari replied. "It's to activate support elements, right?"

Chikara nodded. "Yes, that's right. Do you know how to perform it?"

"I've never tried it," Ari answered.

"Give it a try then," Chikara encouraged, smiling.

Silence. At this, Ari had just remembered that he did not bring any element chips with him. Due to the loss of his Battle Board, he had completely forgotten about them.

"What's wrong?" Chikara asked, slightly worried.

"I don't bring any element chips," Ari muttered. "Can I borrow yours?"

"Sure!" Chikara took a black chip out of the pocket on his trousers and showed it to Ari. "This is 'Diminish'. Try swiping it, and let's start the spar."

Ari smiled at the element chip. "This is good. With magic power reduced, the characters can avoid serious injuries!"

"Well, just like I suspected, you might still a bit unwilling about the sparring, right?" Hachiro smiled, putting his laptop inside his briefcase.

"If it has to involve hurting these characters badly, I feel uneasy," Ari replied, taking the element from Chikara's hand. "I guess Draggy and Starky won't grow much tougher, but they can be more skillful."

Hachiro sneered. "That's exactly what I'm thinking!"

Giving out a friendly smile, Chikara shouted, "Swipe it, Ari!"

Ari brought the black chip sliding along the long slim slot on his gadget. "Element Swipe! Diminish!"

Transparent rings rose from the ground, emitting black aura as they flew into the sky before vanishing.

"It works!" Ari exclaimed.

"Begin the spar!" Hachiro shouted, standing up with his briefcase in his hand. "As for us, we'd better find a safe place to stand."

Ari nodded as he joined Chikara and Hachiro walking to a tree. Unbeknownst to them, a glowing Pip was following them.

Starky jumped into the air and raised his rifle, ready to smack Draggy with its barrel.

Seeing this, Draggy swung his left arm and knocked Starky down like swatting a fly.

"It isn't over yet!" Starky got up and brought the muzzle of his rifle facing Draggy. Cyan threads of light swirled in front of the gun, merging into a huge orb of light.

"Be careful, Draggy!" Ari shouted.

"Big Breath!" Draggy breathed out fully before entirely inhaling the air around him. The crackling of an uncontrollable fire is widely audible across the park as flames shot up from between his fangs.

"Show him all you've got, Starky!" Chikara encouraged.

"Plasma Cannonball!" Starky pulled the trigger of his rifle, sending the glowing ball flying towards Draggy.

At the same time, a massive torrent of flames spewed forth from Draggy's gaping maw.

Starky's cyan orb of light collided with Draggy's stream of blaze. On impact, the glowing sphere diffused the fire into tiny sparks of flame.

"Draggy!" Ari called out as the light ball hit Draggy's snout and detonated.

Draggy simply patted his charred snout with a paw. "Draggy is okay." His thick scales had protected him from Starky's attack almost entirely.

After that, Draggy attempted to whip Starky with his tail by spinning in a loop. However, he was too slow; Starky easily dodged it with a high jump.

"I'm smaller, so I'm faster, pal!" Starky said, swinging his rifle as he was less than half a meter away from Draggy's mouth.

The barrel of Starky's rifle hit Draggy on his snout. However, the blow was no different from a piece of wood hitting a slab of rock. It did not hurt Draggy even a bit.

As Starky was falling to the ground, Draggy swung his enormous paw. His palm landed on Starky's chest, knocking him down.

"Draggy is bigger, so Draggy is stronger!" Draggy smiled at Starky, who was lying on the ground and coughing.

"Hey, Starky! Try finding Draggy's weakness!" Chikara shouted from behind a tree. "Don't hit the scaly area!"

Still lying on the ground, Starky pointed at Draggy with his rifle.

As the tip of the barrel glowed with white light, Starky grinned. "I'm sure you're familiar with this attack."

Draggy blinked. A familiar attack? What was Starky talking about?

Suddenly, an answer came from Ari. "Whatever it is, Draggy, be careful!"

White sparks of pure energy crackled along the barrel of Starky's rifle. Within a split-second, Starky moved his gun a bit to his left side and pulled the trigger. "Maximal Raydiation!"

A streaming blast of light hurtled towards Draggy's right eye. Instinctively, Draggy tilted his head to the left. He managed to avoid the energy beam from damaging his eye; however, his right wing-like ear took the hit instead. The burst of light exploded on impact, scorching Draggy's right ear and leaving threads of smoke escaping from the burns.

Reacting to the searing pain, Draggy shook his head. Fortunately, the pain was mild; it was not too different from having a glass of moderately hot water poured on an exposed skin.

"Thanks to Diminish, Draggy is just suffering mild burns," Hachiro said. "I think they've fought enough, so…let's call it a day."

Tapping his injured ear lightly with a paw, Draggy let out a 'yay'.

Starky responded Hachiro's remark with a chuckle. "It's fun! We should do this often!"

"I'm against that, Starky," Chikara said. "I'm a bit worried about you too in this fight. You've taken some heavy blows to your body."

"Um, anyway mister…" Ari muttered. "How can Draggy and Starky shrink?"

"The way is just the same with how you make them evolve," Hachiro answered. "However, you command them to revert instead of evolving."

"I'll try." Ari brought his gadget facing Draggy. "Revert, Draggy!"

At this, Draggy glowed and as he shrank, his shining body released a cloud of golden molecules. They flew towards Ari's gadget and merged with it afterwards.

Draggy was just a wee reptile now. He immediately ran towards Ari and smiled. "Draggy has shrunk!"

"Yeah, I'm really glad!" Ari replied.

"It's my turn." Chikara brought his gadget facing Starky. "Revert, Starky!"

The command prompted Starky to glow. Soon, he shrank and as he did, his glowing body released a cluster of molecules. They made their way through the air to Chikara's gadget and merged with it afterwards.

"Now, I'll tell you something about healing," Hachiro said. "You can swipe a healing element to heal the characters. The way it works is just the same with other support elements."

"I don't bring any elements," Ari muttered.

"You can use mine, Ari," Chikara responded, taking out a green chip from the pocket on his trousers. "A 'Heal' should work."

"Thanks, Chikara." Ari took the element chip from Chikara's hand. Swiping the element along the long slim slot of his gadget, he shouted, "Element Swipe! Heal!"

As green light engulfed him, Draggy felt like there was a cool hand stroking his injured ear gently. It only took a few seconds until the burning pain faded entirely from his ear.

"Also, you have to remember. Like support elements, healing elements need some time to cool down," Hachiro remarked. "Depending on the element, it can take up to a day until it is usable again."

"It sounds a bit impractical," Ari commented. "Is there another way to heal a character?"

Hachiro nodded. "There is. Eating good food can also help a character's wound regeneration." Looking at Ari, he continued, "I hope you bring some food."

"Yeah, I bring a lot!" Ari replied cheerfully.

"I bring some snacks too," Chikara added.

"Food and snacks?" Draggy asked silently, before clapping his hands happily. "Yay!"

"Okay then, let's eat!" Ari said, taking off his rucksack.

"Can I have some too?" a childlike voice asked from behind.

From behind? The only children around were Draggy and Starky, and they were all standing in front of everybody.

Wait, it was probably Pip!

Right. Everybody turned to see Pip rubbing his paws and looking at them with puppy eyes.

"Pleeaaaase?" Pip asked.

"Of course!" Ari quickly replied.

ooo


	12. Brave Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chisiki's Data Cleaner Program fails to stop the Foreign Beings, which results in a group of Foreign Beings named 'The Summons' emerging in the real world and terrorizing Shinjuku.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter contains more violence and blood than the previous chapters.

Guile let out a battle cry, throwing a straight punch at the empty air.

Further beside him, Akira watched and commented, "Ah, no wonder your elbow hurts. You're stretching your arm too hard. You know; punching like that too often can also hurt your shoulder."

"Do you have any suggestions then?" Guile asked.

"Don't keep performing a straight punch," Akira suggested, clenching his hands. "Try something else. Or maybe just jab your foe." He extended his left arm quickly, rotating to the point his knuckles went from vertical alignment to horizontal. "Jabbing isn't very powerful, but your elbow is safe. Besides, it's fast. Try doing some."

Guile threw a few jabs at the empty air with both of his hands. Akira was correct; his arms did not hurt even a bit as he punched.

"You learn fast, Guile!" Akira remarked. "But you know; practice makes perfect. Throwing quick punches is the point of jabbing, which can eventually break your foe's defense."

"I think I can practice this other time," Guile said. "Do you have a suggestion for a slower, but more powerful punch?"

Akira nodded and performed a backhand punch. "This unorthodox punch is a well-balanced one. You can hit the enemies beside you with this. You can do it with both of your hands too."

"Both of my hands?" Guile questioned. "I'll give it a try."

Roaring, he swung a fist backwards, and within a split-second, he performed another backhand punch with his other hand.

"That's amazing!" Akira exclaimed. "You're really a quick learner!"

"Fighting with bare fists reminds me of my father," Guile said. "When I was young, I often watched him brawling with wild animals with his bare hands."

"Oh, no wonder!" Akira commented. "Your dad sounds like a tough guy."

"Yes, but I was a coward back then," Guile said, bowing. "Because of that, he…"

It was too difficult for him to say anything about his father.

"What's the matter?" Akira asked.

Guile remained silent. He knew that if he continued speaking, he would cry like a child.

"Oh, I guess we can talk about it next time," Akira said. "Let's continue the training."

Guile raised his head and looked at Akira, whose fists were ready.

"You can try varying the punches in an attack too!" Akira uttered, performing a barrage of punches consisting of jabs and a few straights. When he stopped, he added, "You can add a kick or your Tremor Fist as a finisher if you like. Try doing it." Suddenly, he continued, "If you're going to perform that deadly punch, do it on a tree."

Guile nodded. He walked towards a tree, and stopped when he was at least a meter away from it. Crouching slightly, he brought his right fist further in front of his face while keeping the other one on his left side. He assumed a stance like when one was about to hammer something.

"Hey, that's an unorthodox stance!" Akira laughed.

"Never mind. I will do my best," Guile replied.

His roar signified the initiation of his attack. He began by thrusting his left fist, and continued with various punches, shifting between jabs and quick straights. After about three seconds of striking without a pause, he brought his right arm going across his chest with the fist beside the left side of his face. The muscles on the said arm hardened to the sturdiness of a stone as he prepared himself for a backhand punch.

"Tremor…" Guile swung his right arm. "…Fist!"

His fist hit the stout tree trunk with a deafening boom, cracking it on impact. However, that was only the beginning. In a few milliseconds, the fissure branched and spread to the entirety of the tree. It did not even take three seconds until the whole tree disintegrated into a huge amount of wooden chunks and splinters.

Looking at the mound of broken lumbers and twigs, Guile wiped the sweat from his temple with an arm and smiled. It was such a feat. Even after destroying a big tree, he only felt a little tired. But the best thing was that his elbow did not hurt anymore.

"That is just awesome!" Akira commented from behind. "I think you don't hurt your elbow anymore."

Guile turned and flashed Akira a smile. "It's all thanks to you."

"Never mind," Akira said. "I just enjoy giving a lesson or two in such thing." Soon, he continued, "I have some tips. You can strengthen your arms by push-ups. Also, doing push-ups with your knuckles is good for your fists, although you'll feel tired faster." He added again, "Try doing some. Whether you're gonna use your palms or knuckles, it's up to you!"

Guile nodded and assumed the position for push-ups: legs and body stretched with his knuckles on the ground, supporting his weight. Soon, he began lowering his torso towards the ground. As his chest level was slightly lower than his elbows, he straightened his arms slowly, pushing him away from the floor.

He repeated the movements again and again.

After about a minute of working out, Guile felt dull aches on his knuckles, arms, and back. At the same time, beads of sweat streamed down his heart-shaped face, broad neck, and chiseled torso. His heart too, was beating to the point his chest hurt. However, the pain and sweat did not bother him nor made him falter… At least, not until the water trickled down from his nose into his mouth and gave him a brief salty taste in the lips.

He gasped at this and trembled momentarily, but he managed to regain composure and continue working out without a problem.

"Wow, you've done over thirty times!" Akira cheered. "And that's only using your knuckles!"

Akira's voice shocked Guile. Concentration dispersed, he lost his balance and fell flat on his stomach. For a moment, he felt that the muscles on his body were stiffening and aching.

"Oops, sorry!" Akira chuckled, before continuing, "I bet you often work out too? You're pretty strong for a mage."

Breathing heavily, Guile supported himself with his hands and got up slowly. He wiped the sweat from his face with a hand and smiled. "Well, living in wilderness for about a year requires more physical strength than anything else."

"Ah, no wonder you have such a robust body!" Akira remarked. He then walked towards his bulky sling bag, which was resting against a tree. After unzipping it, he took a white towel out of it and threw the cloth at Guile. "You're sweating so much. Here, I've got a towel."

"Thanks, Akira." Guile caught the towel with a hand and wiped the sweat from his body with it.

"I think you've learned a lot from me," Akira said. "Let's go see Ari and the others!"

ooo

Ari, Chikara, Hachiro, Draggy, Starky, and Pip were all sitting on the charred stony path in a circle. The environment around them was messy; cookie sacks and plastic wraps were everywhere.

It was especially dirty around Draggy, Pip, and Starky. The area around them was comparable to a house after having a huge party.

"Kiiiiids! Once you've done eating, pick up all the rubbish you've littered and throw them into a trash can!" Hachiro yelled. "Our rules also apply to all of you; remember that!"

"Rules?" Draggy asked while chewing the chocolate chips cookies in his mouth.

"And don't speak when eating!" Hachiro barked. "It's not only impolite, but you may choke yourself if you do that!"

"I already know that, mister," Starky said lazily.

"Starky! Mind your manners!" Chikara yelled.

Ari giggled. He had never thought that Chikara and Hachiro were very strict when it came about attitude. Especially Hachiro. This cranky old man had yelled so often that Ari wondered if Hachiro could produce an endless amount of saliva.

"You all have made a mess," a baritone voice said flatly.

Everybody turned their attention to the voice.

It was Guile, who was shirtless and standing with his hands in the pockets of his trousers. Beside him, Akira was standing still and smirking.

Before Ari could say something, Draggy and Pip rushed towards Guile.

Stopping in front of Guile, Pip waved his hands and asked, "How's the training?"

"It went well," Guile replied, smiling.

"Guile can do that cool attack without getting hurt now?" Draggy questioned.

Guile nodded.

Akira pointed at himself with a thumb. "Hey, guys! It's all thanks to me, y'know? Guile now knows how to punch better and strengthen his fists!"

Draggy and Pip turned their attention to Akira and gawked.

"Don't look at me like that! It's a truth!" Akira yelled.

Draggy and Pip only tilted their head to the side, confused.

"He's speaking the truth, kids," Guile said.

Draggy and Pip threw their arms in the air and cheered.

"Anyway…" Starky closed his eyes and smirked. "While you two are training, we've eaten so much that there's almost nothing left!"

"What the hell!" Akira shouted, running towards Starky and picking him up with both of his hands. "You're a greedy little alien!"

Starky sneered. "It's a truth."

"You annoy me so much!" Akira shook Starky as if he were shaking a can of soda.

"Stop that, Akira!" Chikara yelled. "Starky may get sick because of you!"

"Um, Akira, I've kept some food for you and Guile," Ari said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Really?" Akira put Starky down on the ground, who hobbled momentarily.

Guile smiled. "Thank you, Ari."

"You two had better come and eat the food Ari has left for you…" Starky muttered, before screaming suddenly and running towards Ari, "…before I eat them all!"

"Hey! That's my part!" Akira yelled, chasing Starky.

"Watch your attitude, Starky!" Chikara roared, picking Starky up with a hand as the alien was about to run past him.

Starky simply laughed. "I'm just kidding! You see? I've worn my helm back, and I can't eat like this!"

"Even if you aren't kidding, I'm taking it seriously!" Akira bawled, sitting in front of Ari whilst his attention was at Chikara and Starky. "Who knows you'll immediately take off your helm once you're in front of my food?"

Ari giggled. Starky had always been loud and nosy since the feast began. There was no single moment he passed without joking, whether it was insulting or not.

But Ari was suddenly worried of Guile. Why had the mage not come to eat the food he had kept especially for him?

It only took a few seconds to figure out why. Guile was leading Pip and Draggy to a trash can with piles of rubbish in their hands.

At this, he looked at Hachiro, who was smiling at the three characters.

"Draggy and Pip seem to obey Guile, mister," Ari began.

Hachiro nodded. "I must admit; Guile seems to make a better educator than I do. Those two kids didn't even care when I told them not to litter. However, Guile can easily lead them to cleaning up the mess."

"I wonder what he has done to make them so obedient," Ari muttered.

"I don't know either," Hachiro replied. "But judging from his speech, he seems to treat Draggy and Pip like his own children."

"You think so, mister?" Ari asked.

"Can you imagine? He was seriously injured, but he still struggled to look after Draggy and Pip," Hachiro said. "I am sure that you still remember Pip saying that Guile cut his own ankle to get some of his blood to feed Draggy."

"Um…" Ari remained silent. Yes, he still remembered that he even scolded Guile for risking his life for Draggy and Pip. The mage had hurt himself badly only for them.

"I think you're right, mister," Ari muttered.

ooo

A maniacal laugh echoed throughout the white room.

Looking at a huge cylindrical machine with a number of wires connecting it to the ceiling of the room, Chisiki guffawed. "It's time to execute the program!"

Behind him, Ami asked, "Are you sure that the Data Cleaner Program isn't flawed, Mr. Chisiki? You rushed to finish that program! And even this monstrous machine! You hired over a hundred of workers just to finish it in three days!"

"It's perfect, Ami. I'm sure of it." Chisiki walked towards the gigantic machine, in front of which had a keyboard molded atop a pedestal.

Ami could only stand still and watch Chisiki mashing the keys on the keyboard rapidly.

Chisiki soon stopped typing and barked, "Doctor Kiko, watch the rod!"

Suddenly, rumbling noise reverberated throughout the room. As the sound faded, the rod lying on the table beside Kiko exploded into a cloud of molecules.

"It worked perfectly!" Chisiki laughed. "Time to activate this for the whole Shinjuku!"

Ami watched Chisiki typing rapidly again. She was confident that the Data Cleaner Program would work perfectly and clear Shinjuku from those Foreign Beings…

At least not until when a moment of silence ensued, followed with a gruff voice saying: "You cannot harm us."

"Who's that?" Chisiki asked.

"You don't need to know who I am," the voice answered. "When you activated this garbage, I immediately told my computer genius to hijack the program and stop it. It's an easy task and can be done in a few minutes because you don't completely encrypt it."

"What?" Chisiki asked aloud.

"Now, I've sent my spy and assassin to find and kill you," the voice spoke in a deep, rumbling voice. "They will ruthlessly slaughter anything they find as an obstacle, especially you."

"Shut up!" Chisiki raised a fist and wagged it. "I will develop another program to eliminate you before you can do a thing! And I'll completely encrypt it next time!"

"It's useless, you fool," the voice replied. "There's no way you can harm us without a program. Unfortunately for you, every time you activate a program directed to my world, I have a computer expert to deal with it. Warning you; he is an extraterrestrial genius, and he may only take more time to hijack an encrypted program."

"Shut up already!" Chisiki shouted.

"Besides, I'm sure that you're already dead before you can create another junk," the voice calmly said. "Anyway, good night."

"Good night? No, this is now personal!" Chisiki yelled at the point one might think his vocal cord was on the verge of rupturing. "I will stop you before you can kill me and harm anybody at Shinjuku!"

"Mr. Chisiki…" Ami muttered.

The problem appeared to be very serious now. The anonymous Foreign Being would pose a threat to Shinjuku for sure.

ooo

"What the hell has just happened?" Akira mumbled whilst having a mouthful of potato croquette.

Standing up, Guile looked at the cerulean sky, which now had a huge streak of golden light amidst the clump of white clouds.

But before anyone could do a thing, two figures fell from the rift and landed in front of them.

One of the figures was a plump humanoid frog with blue skin. On his bald head, a small golden crown rested.

The other was a slim, curvaceous woman in a white breastplate and trousers. She had yellow gauntlets on her forearm, which just fit with her long yellow pigtails.

"Huh? The summon creatures from the game?" Ari asked. "You're Frog Prince and Genie, right? You're our friends!"

The frog man patted the back of his head with his webbed hand. "Ribbit! How do you know that we're part of 'The Summons'? And how do you even know our names?"

"You'd better not interfere with our mission," Genie uttered sternly. "We are not your allies."

"But aren't you supposed to be on the good side?" Hachiro questioned.

"Ribbit! We just have an important mission to do." Frog Prince grinned. He looked at Genie. "Anyway, what do you think about these guys, Genie? Should we leave them or what?"

"As an assassin, this is my only answer: kill them," Genie replied coldly. "I don't care whether they are the ones who start that problem or not."

"Oh, okay, ribbit! I'll leave them to you," Frog Prince said, waving a hand. "Have fun, ribbit! I'll be searching for information about this problem out there!" He turned and hopped away.

"Genie, you were supposed to be a good person, were you not?" Guile asked. "Why would you do something like that? Hurting these kids is unnecessary!"

"I am an assassin," Genie answered flatly.

"Why do you not be an assassin who fights for the innocent?" Guile inquired.

"Innocence sometimes is just an act. People can change overtime," Genie replied, clenching her fists. "Now, I am going to do my job."

Guile turned back and looked at Hachiro. "Sir, guide the children to a safe place!"

"Right away!" Hachiro said. "Follow me, kids! It's too dangerous here!"

"But Guile can't fight by himself! This foe looks strong!" Ari argued.

"Ari, don't be so pessimistic!" Akira assured. "I've taught Guile to punch better, and with that deadly Tremor Fist, he's unstoppable!"

"Yeah, that move is so strong!" Draggy cheered. "Ari believes in Guile, okay?"

"Yes, I'm also sure that Guile can manage everything by himself," Chikara added.

"I will…believe in him," Ari muttered. "Come back safely, Guile."

"Stop talking and follow me now!" Hachiro commanded, turning around.

As Hachiro and the children ran away altogether, Genie and Guile stood still.

"You sound powerful," Genie uttered, rushing towards Guile with her fists ready. "It will be fun to fight you."

A fist came towards Guile's gut, but Guile quickly parried the blow with his left forearm. He then countered with a straight punch to Genie's stomach, knocking her a few meters back.

Now, Guile was seeing something strange. Genie was punching the air rapidly, repeatedly, and almost invisibly from a distance. Thinking it as a trap, Guile stood still.

"You are smart," Genie remarked, still striking the empty air. "But my 'Air Fists' will reach you!"

Before Guile could react, he felt a number of powerful blows to his torso. The attacks caused a few bruises on his body and left him panting as they had repeatedly knocked the air out of his lungs.

"Hmm, you don't sound as strong as those people say," Genie commented.

Ignoring Genie's remark, Guile brought his hand in front of his face. He snapped his fingers, sending a few lightning bolts hurtling towards Genie.

At this, Genie leapt and glided towards Guile, flying from side to side to avoid the lightning bolts. She made it through, but also managed to catch a few tiny thunderbolts to her arms and waist.

Seeing Genie's advance, Guile stopped snapping his fingers and readied his fists. He knew that Genie was going to engage him in a hand-to-hand combat.

And it was true. Genie's fists came like a barrage of missiles from a machine gun.

Guile managed to block the strikes by throwing a flurry of jabs; unfortunately, only for a short while. Genie's speedy attacks eventually overwhelmed his defense and gave him a good pummeling on his stomach.

"Here goes!" Genie leapt to the air and spun.

All of a sudden, a foot collided with Guile on the right side of his face. The impact was so hard that it sent him crashing into a tree headfirst.

As he regained his composure, Guile felt some kind of sticky fluid was welling on the left side of his temple. He put a hand on it and looked at his palm, which was now red and smelled like rusted iron.

It was his blood. The impact had probably created a laceration on his head.

As he was standing up, Genie landed in front of him.

"Are you giving up?" Genie asked. "I'm disappointed that you're weak."

"I find it hard to accept the fact that you change from a kind person into an evil assassin, Genie," Guile replied, standing still. "I am trying to talk you out of this because I do not like fighting a good person."

"You are such a fool." Genie spat out. "I live to fight and kill. Whether my target is an innocent kid or a guilty man, I don't care."

A pause.

"This also means that I will go for those kids after killing you," Genie said coldly.

"You can't be serious!" Guile raised his voice. Genie's previous line grated his nerves.

"Killing is my life as an assassin," Genie muttered, retracting her left hand. Gentle breeze blew across her as transparent sawteeth emerged on her gauntlet, turning her left arm into an ethereal chainsaw. "This is a brutal killing technique I have developed for two years. I once used it in a form of buzz saw and threw it at my target, but I found that a chainsaw did better in close combat."

Looking at this, Guile figured out that this was a chance to catch Genie off-guard. He lunged forward, pulling back his right fist as he charged.

At the same time, Genie thrust her chainsaw arm. It hit Guile on his face; right on his golden domino mask. The impact did not only stop Guile on his tracks and prompt him to jerk away, but it also split the mask in two and sent the fragments falling to the ground with a clatter.

"You are lucky to have jerked away fast," Genie remarked as the sawteeth on her right arm faded. "Otherwise, I can kill you easily."

Without answering, Guile delivered a backhand punch to Genie's stomach, knocking some blood out of her mouth.

"Because you have threatened to kill those children, I will not hold back anymore!" Guile yelled.

Genie gave out a wicked smile. "That is what I am waiting for."

Guile immediately sprang and threw a huge amount of punches; an alternation between jabs and quick straights.

Genie returned the blows by jabbing repeatedly with pleasure.

An exchange of fists ensued. It had been a minute of fisticuffs, but neither side was giving up. Both of them were still going strong…until Guile broke it. He delivered a swipe to Genie's neck, shocking her momentarily and leaving her defenseless.

Quickly, Guile pulled back his fist. He then roared and punched Genie squarely on her face. The sheer force of his blow broke her nose and knocked her across the stony path of the park.

Seeing Genie lying on the ground further in front of him, Guile viewed this as a chance to finish her once and for all. He squatted slightly and pulled back his fists. Arches of purple lightning began to build up and crackle from his feet to his head. Soon, the electric currents flowed steadily into his hands.

At this, Genie stood up and pulled back her left hand. Transparent sawteeth appeared and whirled along her forearm as the wind blew across her. When her left arm had turned into a ghostly chainsaw, she rushed towards Guile, who was in the middle of charging up.

"Aero Chainsaw!" Within a split-second, Genie drove the chainsaw into the right side of Guile's chest and cancelled his spell.

Feeling excruciating pain shooting up from his chest continuously, Guile winced and let out a bloodcurdling scream. The pain stimulated his heart to beat faster and beads of sweat to dribble down from all over his body.

"This is why I work as an assassin," Genie said, slowly dragging the chainsaw down and shredding the flesh on its path. "I can only thrust my chainsaw arm, but I can do a simple slash after jamming it into something."

At this, Guile screamed louder as sharp pain constantly jolted from his chest. The sensation was like having sharp knives growing inside his body, stabbing and slicing everything around it.

"This attack can't last too long though," Genie said, pulling back her arm, which was no longer a spectral chainsaw.

Panting, Guile stood in a stooped position with his eyes closed. Even though he knew that the chainsaw was no longer cutting him, the wound it had left was painful. Throbbing pain was hurting him from outside while stabbing sensation was stinging him from inside.

"This is my signature move," Genie said. "Tornado!"

Guile opened his eyes, only to see Genie's rapid whirling movement forming a cyclone. The tornado pulled him in along with some twigs and stones, spinning them around as it sent them high into the air. Now, Guile felt not only terribly hurt from the gaping wound on his chest, but he also was about to vomit due to dizziness.

The cyclone stopped abruptly, throwing him across the sky. Guile struggled to regain composure and fly, but he was too weak to do so. Burning sensation roared in his throat. Sharp and stabbing pain shot up from his chest. Heavy feeling enveloped his stomach.

Having no choice, he finally landed on the ground with a thud. Lying on his back, he gasped for breath and convulsed constantly from the pain.

A childlike voice shouted, "Guile!"

Guile opened his eyes to see several familiar figures looking at him, worried. Although his vision was blurry, he could recognize that they were Ari, Draggy, and Pip. All of them were having tears brimming in their eyes.

"All of you… Why didn't you run and hide?" Guile asked weakly, wincing.

"When I heard your scream, I decided to find you. Draggy and Pip were so worried that they joined me," Ari said. "You then landed in front of us suddenly."

"You all must run…" Guile huffed, squinting as sharp pain jolted from his injured chest. "Genie is dangerous."

"No, we'll escape together!" Ari exclaimed. "You mustn't die, Guile! You've been so kind to everybody!"

"Ari, my wound is very deep…" Guile groaned. "If I run with you, I will only…slow you down and give Genie a chance to kill you."

"You're still alive?" a cold, flat voice of a woman asked.

Despite having a failing vision, Guile managed to see who had just spoken that.

It was Genie, who was still fine save for having blood on her lips and nose and a few burns on her arms and sides.

"You are tough, so let's continue the fight," Genie said, stepping towards Guile, Ari, Draggy, and Pip. "It's a pleasure to fight you."

"No!" Draggy yelled, jumping and landing in front of Guile with his arms spread.

"Draggy!" Guile and Ari shouted.

"Go away, small fry," Genie said, stopping on her tracks. "I have an unfinished business with that man."

"Draggy, run!" Ari called out, tears welling in his eyes.

"No! Draggy won't let anybody hurt Guile!" Draggy replied loudly.

"Fine." Genie retracted her left hand.

Knowing what kind of attack Genie was preparing, Guile shouted as loud as he could, "No. Draggy, you must run!"

Without answering, Draggy leant back with sparks of flame dancing across his fangs. Seconds later, he leaned forward, shooting a ball of blaze from his mouth. However, with a swipe of Genie's right arm, a gust of wind blew and extinguished the fireball.

Seeing Genie's left forearm turning into a spectral chainsaw, Ari screamed at the top of his lungs, "Draggy!"

Draggy did not budge even a bit.

"Draggy…!" Guile shouted. Having a child risking his life for him was not something good at all.

He had to prevent this at any cost.

Roaring as loud as how a furious lion roared, Guile managed to muster up his remaining strength and stand up. Within a split-second, he jumped high into the air and glided towards Draggy.

"Too late." Genie rushed and thrust her chainsaw arm…but she failed to hit Draggy.

Instead, the chainsaw was jamming into Guile's chest, right beside the first gash.

Genie gave out a mischievous grin. "I commend you for your fortitude. You can still stand and protect these kids."

"This is all for the children I have come to love…" Guile muttered, wincing. "I will never let you harm them!"

"All right then. I'll take you on before killing these kids," Genie said, dragging the chainsaw down from Guile's chest to his abdomen. Blood gushed out from the wound as the whirling sawteeth dismembered his sinew.

"Guile!" Ari and Draggy cried out.

"The chainsaw can't last too long, unfortunately," Genie uttered, pulling back her chainsaw arm. As her forearm reverted into a normal hand of a human, she mocked, "But the injury it has done is fatal."

At this, numbness overtook Guile's body and forced it to collapse… No! The children were nearby, and if Guile gave up, they would die a gruesome death.

He had to win at any cost to avert such disaster.

"Not yet!" Guile roared, pulling back his left fist before thrusting it at Genie. "Tremor Fist!"

Genie sidestepped and barely dodged the strike. "You're too weak to aim carefully-" All of a sudden, she coughed out blood.

Giving Genie a death glare, Guile yelled, "Do you think I will simply let you hurt these children with a chainsaw? Screw that!"

The scream put too much force on his injured ribs and lung and yielded horrifying consequences. Crimson liquid sprayed out of his mouth for a moment, which resulted in him losing a huge amount of blood. This led to him having both blurred vision and shaky limbs.

"Although your attack is very powerful, you are still at a disadvantage in such condition," Genie replied with her right arm hanging limply.

She then delivered an uppercut to Guile's jaw, knocking him up into the air. After that, she leapt, spun, and landed a forceful kick on Guile's injured chest. The impact did not only result in Guile coughing out a mixture of saliva and blood, but it also knocked him many meters away.

THUD!

Guile landed on the rocky path hard. Lying on his back, he raised a trembling hand and snapped his fingers repeatedly. Small lightning bolts leapt from his hand and streaked towards a swooping Genie.

"That pathetic attack won't stop me," Genie said, diving with her leg at front.

Despite catching a few lightning bolts to her exposed abdomen and waist, she made her way through the air without a problem.

And she pressed her left foot down on the two huge gashes on Guile's torso.

Guile shrieked at this, clenching and unclenching his hands whilst writhing painfully as he felt tremendous pain shooting up from his chest. Genie's stomp added pressure to his injured right lung and ribs. It was like having a boulder crushing his chest beneath its weight, spikes sprouting inside his body, and fire burning the skin around his external wounds at once.

Giving out a cold glare, Genie pulled back her left hand. "Let's see how much more you can take."

ooo

_That scream!_

Hearing the familiar yet agonizing scream, Yoshino immediately set off from the entrance of Shinjuku Park. She ran along the stony path very quickly; so fast that she did not even realized that she had just run past Ari, Draggy, and Pip, who were hugging each other and trembling.

Soon, a disturbing sight approached Yoshino's vision. In front of her, a woman with long yellow pigtails was crushing Guile's chest under her foot.

But that was not the worst of all.

The woman's left forearm was an ethereal chainsaw. Aside from a painful cry, whirring sound was clearly audible across the silent park.

Yoshino knew that Guile would soon die a horrible death if she did not do something. But what should she do? She was of course, no match for that woman.

_If Guile dies, I will never have the chance to show him that I've changed!_

She made up her mind to assist Guile with the best of her ability. Looking around, she tried to find a weapon to help her. Perhaps a stone or a pointy twig would do…

She succeeded. There was a slab of rock on the ground beneath her. Picking it up, she charged at the woman and yelled, "Let Guile go!"

Before the woman could react, Yoshino bashed her head with the stone and shoved her away from Guile.

Kneeling down, she could not help but gasping and leaning back with widened eyes upon seeing Guile's condition. Guile was lying on the ground, groaning and squinting painfully. Bruises were visible on all over his body, but they were not the worst injuries. The two bloody slits running down from the right side of his chest to his abdomen were horrifying. The gaping wounds, aside from having red, swollen flesh surrounding them, were so deep that bloodstained bone fragments were visible inside the clefts.

"Guile, a-are you o-okay?" Yoshino stammered, placing a hand on Guile's forehead. "S-speak to m-me!"

Guile opened his eyes and uttered, "You are Yoshino! Impossible…! Is this…a dream?"

"No! You aren't dreaming!" Yoshino yelled.

A pause.

The moment of silence left Yoshino a hint that Guile might not forgive her, like what her grandma had said.

However, she soon realized that she was not trying hard enough to show that she had changed. She had not even apologized to Guile.

With that, Yoshino screamed, "I came because I wanted to apologize for my acts! I didn't care whether you'd forgive me or not, but I had to do it because I was a horrible person before!"

Guile gasped. "You are serious…?"

Yoshino nodded and bawled, "Yes! I feel terrible because of that! Actually, I…" Unable to hold back her emotions, she blurted out, "I am truly hoping that you will forgive me! Please do, my friend! Please!"

"I can't believe it but…" Guile muttered, smiling weakly with tears brimming in his eyes. "…I gladly forgive you, Yoshino. Thank you for taking your time to do it."

Yoshino leant back in surprise. Guile forgave her easily, which she found unbelievable.

"Do you know…? All this long, I only wish to be your friend," Guile whispered. "This is why I…" He winced and groaned. "I never complained when you treated me harshly."

At this, Yoshino could only bellow. Guilt overwhelmed her as she realized that she had abused someone who just wanted to be her friend. And what made it worse was that the person she treated like a trash was suffering silently just because of hoping to be her companion.

"That is a powerful blow from a kid like you," a woman's voice said, interrupting Yoshino from her thoughts.

"That is Genie," Guile said weakly. "You must run, Yoshino!"

Yoshino turned to see Genie grasping the back of her head with a bloody hand.

Thinking that she had better atone for everything she had done to Guile, she stood up with the bloodstained stone in her hand. "Bring it on! I won't let you kill him!"

"Fine." Genie retracted her left arm.

Yoshino roared and threw the stone at Genie. Unfortunately, Genie tilted her head to the side and dodged the rock entirely.

Looking at this, Yoshino glared at Genie with fierce yet teary eyes. There was nothing she could do to help Guile, but she was still unwilling to give up. If she did, Guile would die.

Yoshino glanced around frantically, hoping to find some big stones or pointy twigs. Yes, there were a few slabs of rocks on the ground beneath her. Quickly, she picked them up one by one and threw them at Genie in rapid succession.

Unfortunately, Genie dodged all of them by either tilting her head or her body to the sides.

And in the end, Yoshino could only stand still and glare at Genie with tears in her eyes. She had run out of ammunitions.

All of a sudden, a weak voice called her from behind.

Yoshino looked back to see Guile standing limply and smiling at her tearfully.

"I can never let a child risk her life for me, Yoshino," Guile said, placing a hand on Yoshino's shoulder. "You haven't given up yet, have you? I will fight in your place to represent your brave heart."

"But you're badly hurt!" Yoshino argued. "You may die if you fight!"

At this, Yoshino felt warm on her right palm. She looked at her hand and saw a blue gadget in her grip.

"The gadget? What does this mean?" Yoshino asked.

Guile stepped ahead, separating Yoshino from Genie. "Fight me, Genie!"

Hearing that, Yoshino screamed, "Guile, no! Stay back!"

At the same time, threads of black flame leapt from the monitor of her gadget into the air. Their arrow-like ends spun and merged into a fiery figure of an eagle, which then swooped in. It entered Guile's back and sent him torching with ghastly fire.

_"Guile evolves!"_

"Guile… He finally evolves…!" Yoshino said, smiling. This gave her a glimpse of hope. Guile could probably win.

A pair of large, black feathery wings emerged from Guile's back as ebony feather sprouted from his entire body. Two strands of antennae-like feather were coming out of his forehead while a stout, curved beak was replacing his nose and mouth. The nails on his hands and feet grew into large, jagged scimitar-like talons, ready to tear everything on their path asunder.

Looking at the phantom flame around the black eagle man fading, Yoshino encouraged, "You can do it, Guile! Do your best!"

"Evolved? Fine," Genie said, coming with her chainsaw arm.

Before Guile could react, Genie managed to dig her chainsaw deep into Guile's chest, forming a gaping wound beside the second gash.

"Guile!" Yoshino shouted, worried. Guile was clearly losing now; blood was pouring down to the ground beneath him.

"Even though my body is on the verge of collapsing… I WILL NEVER GIVE UP IN MY HEART!" Guile roared and quickly knocked Genie up high into the air with a left uppercut to her jaw.

Seeing Guile flipping the table, Yoshino became hopeful again. She shouted at him, "You can beat her for sure, Guile! Keep going!"

As Genie regained her composure and swooped in, Guile stood still.

"Aren't you attacking? I see," Genie commented, pulling back her left arm.

"Annihilation…" Guile muttered. He suddenly cupped his hands behind his back at lightning speed and screamed, "…Wave!" He quickly thrust his hands, ushering forth an enormous black energy burst at Genie.

The dark energy consumed Genie, who let out an agonizing scream as blackness engulfed her. Like acid going through a solid object, the blast disintegrated her into thin threads of smoke.

Soon, the energy burst faded and left nothing behind. At this, threads of black flame escaped from Guile's body as he reverted to his human form. His wings shrank. His body reabsorbed all his talons and feathers. His beak too, disappeared and became a normal mouth and nose again.

"You did it!" Yoshino cheered, running towards Guile.

With his eyes closing gradually, Guile fell to his knees and slumped to his right side slowly.

Seeing this, Yoshino imagined how painful it would be if Guile's injured chest hit the ground. She rushed to his front and caught his limp torso on her arms before it could hit the rocky floor. After that, she sat with her legs extended and slowly lowered Guile's body.

As she let Guile's side rest on her legs, she looked at Guile carefully. His current appearance was similar to a living dead; battered, mangled, and pale. Blood kept gushing out from the left side of his head and the three large gashes on the right side of his chest. He was breathing quickly and lightly, wincing in pain for every breathe he took.

Hoping to comfort him, Yoshino said, "Hang in there, Guile! Grandma and I will quickly take you home and treat your wounds!" She soon screamed in a worried tone, "It won't take too long! Relax!"

Guile slowly opened his eyes, but only managed to open them partly. Giving Yoshino a faint smile, he said, "Yoshino… I've never seen you like this before. You are so…caring…"

"Why wouldn't I?" Yoshino yelled, crying. "I've done so many bad things to you! I…I just want to show you that I've changed!"

With tears brimming in his partially-shut eyes, Guile muttered, "You don't have to go too far, Yoshino. Your apology and your concern… They are more than enough to show me that you have changed."

Guile's words moved Yoshino's heart. No matter how bad she had been to him, Guile did not seem to mind… And this was all just because of his desire to be her friend.

With that in her heart, Yoshino wrapped her arms around Guile's limp torso and lifted his body slightly to hug him tighter. "Thank you so much, my dear friend!"

Slowly and weakly, Guile returned the embrace and whispered, "Never mind… Indeed, I have to thank you too…for being kind to me."

ooo


	13. Guilt and Remorse

"Guile, can you stand up and walk?" Yoshino asked, releasing Guile from her embrace. "I'm afraid that my grandma doesn't know where we are."

"I'll do my best," Guile replied. Slowly, he rose to a sitting position, wincing and groaning painfully as he struggled to sit upright. Beads of blood oozed from the three huge gashes on the right side of his chest as he moved.

"Don't worry if you can't!" Yoshino spoke in a concerned tone. "Just wait here. I'll call my grandma for help."

"I can do it," Guile muttered as he placed his hands on the ground. Pushing himself up with his arms, he managed to get up soon. He was now standing in a stooped position.

Looking at this, Yoshino immediately stood up, thinking of helping Guile. She grabbed Guile's right forearm, allowing his entire arm to wrap around the back of her neck and drape down her right shoulder. With her left hand, she held Guile on his left side to provide him a support. Fortunately, he was not too heavy despite being at least half a meter taller than she was…

Of course not. He was not completely leaning on her. Somehow he was still able to stand almost completely upright and walk slowly.

"I truly appreciate your help, Yoshino," Guile said, smiling weakly. "But you should know that I cannot let a child overexert herself for my sake. I will do my best to walk by my own."

ooo

"Yoshino! Where are you?" Nana shouted, running into the park as fast as she could. She had a feeling that the agonizing shriek which prompted Yoshino to set off quickly meant danger.

She kept running, but soon, she stopped to catch her breath; her heart raced as drops of sweat trickled down her temple. An old lady like her could not run as much as a young girl did.

_But I must keep going! What if something happens to Yoshino? I have to find her soon!_

With that in mind, Nana continued running again…until she saw a boy hugging a yellow dragon which was about as tall as he was. A plump little white squirrel was standing beside their feet, trembling with his face buried in his paws. Soft sobs were clearly audible, giving Nana a bad feeling.

"Hey, sonny!" Nana called out. "Tell me what has happened here!"

The boy slowly raised his head, revealing a pair of teary eyes and a red nose on his sagged face.

Eyes widening in shock, Nana asked, "There's s-something b-bad?"

The boy nodded. "Our friend…might have died…"

"What?" Nana asked aloud. "E-explain to me!"

The boy only cried.

At this, Nana was palpitating and breathing quickly. She was hoping that the 'friend' was not Yoshino. For Nana, Yoshino might be an insolent girl, but she was still her granddaughter.

Suddenly, the boy said, "Earlier, there was a woman named Genie trying to attack us with a chainsaw… But then, our friend, Guile, intercepted it and…" He suddenly bawled out loud, "…that thing shredded him! And he's bleeding a lot afterwards!"

Hearing that, Nana let out a breath of relief. Yoshino was probably safe.

Yes, she was safe. Nana could now hear her voice calling out for her.

"Grandma!"

Reacting to the voice, Nana looked ahead to see a not-so-pleasant sight. She was happy that Yoshino was walking towards her, completely unscathed. However, what bothered her was the condition of the lavender-haired man whom Yoshino was supporting with her body. He was not only pale with three huge and long red lines on the right side of his chest, but he was also breathing quickly and lightly, grimacing for each breath he took.

Being a former doctor, Nana knew what she should do first: helping the man. Instinctively, she rushed towards him and Yoshino.

"Oh, gosh, sonny! You shouldn't have let him move too much!" Nana shouted as she grabbed the man's left arm. "Anyway, help me lay him down, sonny. I'll check him and decide what I should do next."

Yoshino nodded and told the man, "Guile, lie down. Believe in my grandma, okay? She's a retired doctor."

Guile responded with a nod.

Slowly, Nana and Yoshino lowered Guile's body to the ground and let his back rest on the rocky floor.

ooo

"Ari…" Draggy whispered.

Ari leant back to see a tearful Draggy's focus was not at him. "Draggy? What are you looking at?"

All of a sudden, Draggy stepped aside and ran past him while calling out, "Guile!"

Guile was back? Good news!

Ari turned around and joined Draggy running.

Soon, Ari and Draggy stopped in front of Guile, who was lying on the ground and wincing painfully. On his right side, an old woman was kneeling on the ground and looking at the three gaping wounds on the right side of his chest. On his left side, Yoshino was kneeling as well, but her attention was only at Guile's face.

"Guile is okay?" Draggy asked.

Guile managed to crack a weak smile and nod slightly.

_How the hell he could still say that he was okay? He was as pale and mangled as a living dead!_

With that in mind, Ari shouted at Guile, "But your wounds are serious! You must be treated quickly!"

"Yes, they are fatal, sonny," the old woman suddenly spoke as she leant back. "It isn't just the blood loss. The gashes are so deep that they have also damaged his ribs and lungs."

"What the hell!" Ari screamed. "What should we do?"

Yoshino looked at Ari. "Hush! My grandma is a retired doctor, and she can and will _definitely_ save Guile's life."

"Sorry, sonny, but it isn't as easy as you think," Yoshino's grandma said. "If we can take him home quickly, I can immediately treat him. However, you must know that the bus service at Shinjuku becomes so rare suddenly." She sighed. "Even if there's a bus, there's no guarantee that he's allowed to enter. He's a complete mess right now."

_Immediate treatment…_

Ari suddenly remembered Akira. That boy brought a bag of materials for first aid.

"Grandma, I have a friend who brings a first aid kit," Ari said.

Hearing that, Yoshino smiled. "There is? Great!"

"Draggy will go find Ari's friend!" Draggy exclaimed, before leaping into the air, spreading his wings, and flying past everybody.

"Wait up, sonny," the old lady said.

But Draggy had gone so far that he did not hear anything.

"Why? We need to treat him quickly, right?" Ari asked.

"Treating his wounds isn't simple. I must first wear a pair of gloves to protect my hands and prevent further infection. After that, I have to wash the wounds. Then, I need to trim the edges and pick up any possible debris in the clefts. For that, there must be a minor surgery set," she answered. "I don't think your friend brings dissecting scissors and tweezers. Besides, I have to stitch the wounds after that."

"Oh no…" Ari murmured.

"Grandma, aren't there any other solutions?" Yoshino inquired tearfully.

"There's nothing else I can do, sonny," the old woman muttered. "I'm sorry."

"Ma'am, don't scare these children like that…!" Guile suddenly screamed. Unfortunately, he hurt himself by doing so. He coughed, sending more blood trickling down from his lips. As his hack calmed down a bit, he began breathing very quickly and lightly whilst wincing.

"Don't talk, Guile!" Yoshino said. "Relax!"

Guile ignored Yoshino's remark and continued speaking, "Ma'am, I am not a person who will simply succumb to my wounds. If I am, I can never live to see this day."

"Sorry, sir, but your injuries are fatal if they aren't treated immediately," the old woman replied.

"For me, they aren't dangerous!" Guile yelled, wincing. Soon, he coughed again for a moment.

"Guile, don't worry! I believe in you!" Yoshino said, trying to comfort a breathless Guile.

"What? It's impossible for Guile to survive like this!" Ari argued.

"No! You're wrong!" Yoshino bawled. "Guile is strong! He'll live on!"

"He can't!" Ari rebutted. "I know that Guile is really tough, but his wounds are serious!" He pointed at the right side of Guile's chest. "Look at those gashes! Can't you see how deep they are?"

"I'm not blind, you idiot!" Yoshino yelled back. "I'll tell you; Guile is much tougher than you can imagine. Since he came last week, I had never cared about him." She raised her voice higher, "Mark my words! For one week, Guile slept outside without food! Whether it rained or not, I didn't care! Then I kept forcing him to fight even when he was hurt! And if he overslept, I threw a pail of water at him! But even like this, he could still survive many battles!"

"You treated him like that for a week?" Ari asked aloud. He suddenly slapped Yoshino. "YOU ARE TERRIBLE!"

"Ari!" Guile shouted, before hacking momentarily. Soon, he managed to scream, "Stop!"

Hearing that, Ari turned his attention to Guile, who was tearing up. At this, he thought that Guile's injuries hurt so much that he cried.

"Guile, don't speak! Your wounds will only hurt you more!" Yoshino said, worried.

"I didn't cry because of that," Guile muttered, looking at Ari with a pair of tearful eyes. "I just didn't like seeing you two quarreling."

Ari could only gawk and remain silent as he realized that his guess was wrong.

"Ari, please be more open-minded. Yoshino has changed," Guile spoke softly. "See for yourself. If Yoshino were still like before, she would not have worried about my condition. She would only call me a wimp instead of comforting me."

A pause.

"Perhaps you wouldn't believe this, but Yoshino… She risked her life to save me," Guile continued. "Genie was trying to torture me to death with her chainsaw spell, but Yoshino interrupted and tried to fend her off."

"Really?" Ari asked, his eyes widening in shock.

Guile nodded. "Though it is fine if you still find it hard to believe."

What Guile said was true. Ari still found it weird that Yoshino had changed a lot.

But Guile was probably telling the truth about Yoshino saving his life. That girl seemed to have shown remorse towards her acts. Yesterday, Ari saw her visiting Guile and trying to apologize to him. Unfortunately, at the same time, Guile was still unconscious due to his injuries. And thus, Yoshino ended up leaving him and hoping to see him again soon.

"I trust you, Guile," Ari said, before turning to Yoshino and giving her a death glare. "But you! Don't ever do such mean things to Guile again!"

"SHUT UP!" Yoshino screamed as she suddenly grabbed Ari by his collar. "Don't remind me of that! I know what to do!"

All of a sudden, a soft snap was audible as a small purple lightning bolt streaked past Ari's and Yoshino's eyes. Shocked, Yoshino released Ari and together with the boy, she looked at Guile, who had raised a quivering right hand.

"I am sorry, but please stop quarreling," Guile said, frowning. "Ari, don't keep attacking Yoshino. She is still guilty of her acts; that's why she is easily angered if you mention something about the deeds she had committed." He continued, "So please forget about all the terrible things she has done to me."

"I understand you, sir, but honestly, I still think that Yoshino doesn't deserve an easy forgiveness from you," the old lady said. "She needs to learn a lesson or two."

"Ma'am, can't you be more open-minded to your own granddaughter?" Guile scowled. "Yoshino is changing, but if you don't even give her a chance to change, how can she be a better person?"

There was a long pause, before the old lady replied, "I think you're right." She looked at Yoshino. "Sonny, I believe that you can change. As a starter, you must remember; this man has been very kind to you, and I'm hoping that you know how to thank this man."

"Yes." Yoshino nodded. Soon, she knelt and looked directly into Guile's eyes. "Thank you, Guile."

Guile smiled. "Never mind."

"I'm sorry, Yoshino," Ari whispered, his head bowed. _Guile is right. I'd better give her another chance too._

A long moment of silence passed…until a familiar childlike voice shouted, "Ari!"

Ari knew whose voice was that. He immediately ran past Yoshino to see Draggy, who was having a large white duster draping down his back like a cape, walking towards him with four familiar figures. One of them was the tallest of all; a grey-haired man in a thick black-rimmed glasses with a briefcase in his hand. On his right side was a boy with a rucksack on his back and a white humanoid alien sitting on his messy black hair. On the other side was a spiky-haired boy wearing a sling bag across his chest. They were Hachiro, Chikara with Starky, and Akira respectively.

"Draggy found everybody hiding inside Draggy's house," Draggy said, smiling.

"Oh, by the way, you need the first aid kit, right?" Akira asked, patting his sling bag.

Ari nodded and turned around. "Follow me."

Soon, everybody set off to where Guile was resting.

As they arrived there, Hachiro began, "Oh, you're here too, Mrs. Nana."

"Yes, I've told you that I'll accompany Yoshino to the park, right?" Nana asked back, smiling.

"Gosh! Guile is seriously injured!" Akira said, his eyes widening in shock as their focus was at the wounded Guile.

"Akira, hand this grandma your first aid kit," Hachiro told Akira. "She may be a retired doctor, but she knows a lot about medications."

"Yes, mister," Akira took off his sling bag and placed it in front of Nana. "Grandma, I hope that I bring everything needed to treat him!"

Without answering, Nana unzipped the bag and looked into it. After a minute, she said, "Sorry, but you don't bring everything I need. You only bring a bottle of alcohol, a flask of antiseptic solution, a tube of ointment, a bag of swabs, a few packs of tissue papers, several rolls of bandage and gauze, some plasters, and a pair of regular scissors."

"What?" Akira asked. "They are still incomplete?"

"Grandma, can't you at least do early treatment for Guile's wounds?" Yoshino questioned.

Nana shook her head. "The result won't be optimal, sonny."

"Dammit! If we can take him home quickly…" Yoshino muttered, clenching her hands.

"But the bus service is rare!" Ari bawled, closing his eyes as he let tears stream down from them. It appeared that Guile could not survive at this rate.

Suddenly, a boy's voice called out, "Guys, listen to me! I have an idea!"

Ari turned to see Chikara smiling.

_How could he still smile like that!_ Ari thought. Or perhaps, he had a solution? Chikara seemed to have a lot of great ideas since Ari first knew him.

"Ari, let Draggy evolve. Draggy will grow big and can easily carry everybody to Yoshino's home," Chikara explained.

"But everybody will find out about Draggy and make a fuss about him!" Ari argued.

"That's not a big problem," Chikara replied. "There aren't many people wandering around the streets recently, so it's safe for Draggy to fly around." He then added, "Draggy can also fly higher to avoid crowds."

"No, he mustn't fly too high!" Nana warned. "This man will have trouble breathing in the thin air with his injured lungs!"

"Flying too high isn't necessary," Chikara replied flatly.

"Hey, don't forget about me!" Starky said, pulling out a ray gun from his back whilst sitting on Chikara's head. "Remember, I have a ray gun."

"Starky, just what the hell are you going to do with that gun?" Yoshino questioned.

"Just look at this, miss." Starky smiled, pointing ahead with his ray gun. As the parabolic-like muzzle of the gun glowed with cyan light, he shouted, "Flash Shot!"

A small azure orb of light leapt from the antennae of the gun and floated slowly across the air.

"Yeah, what's special about this?" Yoshino asked flatly.

"Don't underestimate it, miss!"

All of a sudden, the cyan orb exploded and unleashed a dazzling flash of light.

At this, everybody could see nothing but pure white. However, the blindness only lasted for a few seconds.

Or probably not.

Ari had managed to regain his vision, but everything around him appeared to be flickering. He immediately rubbed his eyes, hoping to recuperate faster.

"How is it?" a childlike voice asked.

Starky's ability was handy; Ari thought. With this, Starky could distract people so that nobody could see Draggy.

After fully recovering from the dazzle, Ari saw Chikara and Starky smiling. He told them, "Great idea, you two!"

"Now, let Draggy evolve so that we can take Guile home!" Yoshino commanded sternly.

Ari pointed his gadget at Draggy with the monitor facing the dragon. "Evolve, Draggy!"

As the command left Ari's mouth, Ari's red gadget emitted crimson radiance and released a web of fiery threads towards Draggy. The blazing strings revolved around the dragon before merging and forming a fireball which encased him.

_"Draggy evolves!"_

The fireball bloated abruptly into a giant sphere of flame.

Within a split-second, the orb burst and sent jets of flame rocketing in all directions. But before they could hit any objects, they veered and flew towards Ari's gadget, merging with it afterwards.

With the fireball's disappearance, Draggy was now visible in his evolved form. Standing about seven meters tall, he stretched his body and spread his wings.

"Eh, Draggy forgot something," Draggy said, picking up the white duster behind him before placing it over Guile's body. "This is Guile's coat."

"Thanks, Draggy," Guile replied whilst smiling faintly.

"Hey, this doesn't look good at all!" Ari exclaimed as the blood from Guile's wounds were soaking his white coat red.

"That's right, sonny," Nana said, picking up Guile's duster. "The cloth may stick to the drying blood and make more problems."

Looking at Draggy, Ari commanded, "Anyway, Draggy, pick us up."

Draggy nodded and with his left paw, he slowly scooped Guile up along with Yoshino, Nana, Ari, and Akira. As he did, he had just realized that his hand did not reach Pip, who was standing still with his face buried in his paws. The plump little squirrel was trembling like a jelly whilst glowing like a light bulb.

"Things are okay, Pip." Draggy poked Pip softly with one of his jagged claws.

"Eh?" Pip moved his paws to the side and looked around. "Really?"

Draggy nodded and extended his free hand to the ground. "Pip just stays on Draggy's hand, okay?"

"Yay!" Pip cheered, galloping all his way to Draggy's palm.

Suddenly, different shouts consisting of broad, average-pitched, and childlike voices came from behind Draggy. "Don't forget about us!"

They sounded like Hachiro, Chikara, and Starky. Knowing this, Draggy let his right arm extended still, until the three people he waited for managed to jump into his scaly palm. Right. They were really Hachiro, Chikara, and Starky.

"I don't think you know the way to our home, so I'll give you directions, Mr. Dragon," Nana said.

Hearing the term 'Mr. Dragon', everybody except Yoshino and Ari exploded with laughter.

"Grandma, this dragon is still a child!" Akira remarked, laughing. "He'll shrink again soon!"

"Whatever! We'd better be quick!" Yoshino grumbled.

"Draggy, fly!" Ari commanded. "We have to save Guile!"

Draggy nodded and jumped. As he almost fell to the ground, he flapped his wings, propelling him up into the air and keeping him airborne. Soon, he began flying out of the park.

ooo

Hopping around the shady forest, Frog Prince could feel a light vibration in his head. There was something from data nearby…

_I knew it! Genie is really a great assassin! She must have done killing those punks!_

Frog Prince bounced ahead and looked around, hoping to confirm that the vibration came from Genie's presence…

But he was wrong.

Further in front of him, a red-nosed skull with a crimson diamond-shaped paint along its empty right eye socket was resting under a tree.

"Ribbit! Don't tell me that this useless thing is the one that causes the vibration in my head!" Frog Prince shouted, jumping on the spot repeatedly like a spring.

The skull leapt into the air and yelled back, "Nyak-nyak-nyak! Who are you calling 'useless'?!"

"You're alive, ribbit!" Frog Prince stopped hopping and smacked his own face with a webbed hand of his. "Damn it, ribbit! This means that Genie is dead!"

"What the hell are you talking about?" the clownish skull asked in a creaky voice, bouncing repeatedly as if there were a trampoline beneath it.

"I left Genie fighting against some punks out there, ribbit. Genie is a bloodthirsty assassin from our group, and she'll never leave a battle unless she has won," Frog Prince replied.

"Who are those punks? Are they a yellow dragon and a masked man?" the skull questioned.

Frog Prince nodded. "Yeah, they are two of them, ribbit. Then, there are a fat little squirrel and a small alien in a fishbowl-"

"Enough! Enough!" the skull interrupted. "Listen to me, froggy. With that masked bastard around, you can't do anything, especially if you're planning to kill that yellow dragon or that little squirrel."

"Hey, don't call me 'froggy', ribbit! I'm Frog Prince!" Frog Prince yelled, pointing at the small crown on his head. "Don't you see this crown, ribbit?"

The skull suddenly leapt into the air and screamed, "Shut up, nyak-nyak-nyak! First, look at me! I once had a skeleton, but that masked bastard crushed it to pieces! Luckily, I managed to separate my skull from my skeleton before his attack reached my head!"

Frog Prince blinked and rubbed his temple with a finger. "Really? That masked man is that powerful?"

"Yeah, especially when he's mad. Just threaten that yellow dragon or that little squirrel, and he'll go apeshit," the skull replied. "My two cents for you: take out that masked bastard first in a fight before aiming for the others. But remember, he's tough as hell. I've beaten him up, reopened a wound on his ankle, and let a fireball blast him. Guess what? He's _still standing_."

"Wow, he really sounds tough, ribbit!" Frog Prince commented.

The skull added, "Oh yeah, I haven't told you that earlier before that fight, I had beaten him to within an inch of his life and crushed his ribs. I'm trying to tell you that when I last fought him, he barely recovered from those injuries!"

What a resilient foe!

Frog Prince was now sure that Genie was dead. Genie specialized in breaking a foe's defense to deal a killing blow, but her power was probably not enough to bring that 'masked bastard' down. Or perhaps, Genie had made the said masked man angry by threatening the yellow dragon or the little squirrel.

_For our main mission, we'll probably need more backup if we plan to continue… This masked man poses a big problem to us if he is related to the one who attacks our world._

Suddenly, Frog Prince thought of an idea. This skull sounded powerful from the injuries it had inflicted on the masked man. Also, it seemed smart.

"Little skull," Frog Prince began.

"Hey, my name is Skelly, nyak-nyak-nyak! Not 'little skull'!" Skelly replied angrily.

"Whatever, ribbit." Frog Prince shrugged. "I'm just asking if you wanna join our group. We're called 'The Summons'. Our plan here is actually to find and kill who is messing around with our world."

"Nyak-nyak-nyak, join your group?" Skelly asked. "Hey, can't you see? I don't have my skeleton anymore!"

"Grim Reaper can fix it for you anyway," Frog Prince said. "He can create a better skeleton than your old one, ribbit!"

"A better skeleton?"

A pause.

"How about it?" Frog Prince questioned, grinning.

There was another pause, before Skelly said, "Okay, but keep your promise about my skeleton!"

"Of course I will, ribbit! We first need to take out the masked man you mentioned, right? We'll need sheer force for it, so we'll of course, fix your skeleton!" Frog Prince smiled. "I don't know if that person is related to the one who messes around with our world, but to be on the safe side, we'll just kill him too, ribbit."

"You're right, nyak-nyak-nyak!" Skelly cackled. "With that masked bastard dead, we can continue our job more easily."

"C'mon, ribbit!" Frog Prince hopped towards the skull and scooped it up with a hand. "Let's first have a talk with Lord Saint!"

After that, he squatted, before jumping up high into the air and entering the glowing rift in the sky.

ooo

Wooden planks covered the floor. A bright hanging lamp was on the ceiling, emitting white radiance to the living room of the Kobayashi villa.

Sitting on a sofa with Akira, Ari yawned with his head drooping down. Riding Draggy all the way to Yoshino's home was tiring, especially because of the wind blowing against his face. In addition, he had woken up quite early in the morning today.

But one thing kept bothering him and thus, prevented him falling asleep completely. Yoshino's grandma had been in the bedroom for about five hours to treat Guile's injuries, but she had not come out with any news.

"Don't worry, Ari," Akira said, patting Ari's back. "Guile should be okay. Yoshino's grandma sounds competent in this."

"He's right, everybody. Please don't worry too much about Guile," Hachiro said. "With proper treatment, good food, and enough rest, he should recover in less than a week."

"Mister, how can you be so sure?" Yoshino asked, sitting on a couch. "He can't recover that fast!"

"You can help the recovery process, Yoshino," Hachiro replied. "Where's your gadget? I hope you now have it."

Yoshino inserted a hand into a pocket on her jeans and took out a dark blue gadget from it.

Chikara blinked as he saw Yoshino's gadget. "But didn't it shatter a while back?"

Yoshino shrugged. "I didn't understand why it reformed either."

Hachiro smiled. "It represents your bond with Guile, Yoshino. This proves that you're friends with Guile now."

"Whoa, you sure know a lot, mister!" Akira responded.

"Cut that out for now!" Hachiro snapped. "Now, listen to me, Yoshino," he began calmly. "Once your grandma has done treating Guile's wounds, swipe some healing elements."

"Dad, why didn't you suggest that earlier?" Chikara asked.

"Because I wasn't sure if Yoshino had received her gadget back," Hachiro answered.

"Honestly, I don't have any healing elements." Yoshino bowed. "I've always thought that Guile is tough enough to survive a huge amount of punishment, so I don't need healing elements. Besides, I didn't care about him before." She sobbed. "Whether he was injured or sick, I just neglected him!"

"Man, I've never thought that you'll say something like that, Yoshino!" Akira exclaimed. "Really, why did you have to be like that to Guile?"

"For a stupid reason," Yoshino muttered. "He told me that summoning him meant I couldn't summon anybody else. I was very annoyed because of that. I always considered Guile as a pathetic character from the game, so he was just an object for venting out my frustration."

"Why? Guile isn't a bad character," Akira responded. "He has strong magic power and good resilience in the game!"

Yoshino stomped the ground and slammed her fists to the mahogany table in front of her; the plastic cups and jug on its top teetered momentarily from the shock. "Didn't you hear me saying my reason of treating Guile like a crap was something stupid?"

"Cool off, Yoshino! I meant no insult with that!" Akira brought his palms facing Yoshino, asking her to stop with such gesture.

"Guile might not be the best character in the game, but he was kinder than I had ever thought!" Yoshino yelled, crying. "He easily forgave me despite all those horrible things I had done to him! And he bottled up everything in him just in hopes that I'd someday accept him as a friend! Did you think other characters would be a silent sufferer like him?"

"If you had summoned a strong character, you might have avoided everything instead, Yoshino," Hachiro said calmly. "And nobody would have seen your true nature and corrected it."

With trembling lips, Yoshino replied, "Yes, you're p-probably right, mister…"

"So it's a blessing in disguise?" Ari asked.

Hachiro responded with a smile. "Indeed. But I must admit that I feel sorry for Guile. He just has to go through so much pain in his life."

"In his life?" Yoshino blinked. "Mister, please don't tell me that Guile had suffered so much even before I summoned him!"

"Hmm…" Hachiro looked at Yoshino for a moment. Judging from her speech and attitude, she seemed to be very guilty of her acts.

Hachiro knew the truth about Guile, but for now, he believed that not telling what Guile had actually gone through in his life was the best solution. If he revealed it to Yoshino, the girl might keep blaming herself for being a bastard because Guile was an unhappy person in the past.

"Oh, forget about it. We'd better continue about helping Guile's recovery process." He turned to Chikara, who was sitting beside him. "Give Yoshino a 'Cure Plus' element."

"Yes, Dad," Chikara unzipped his rucksack and took out a blue chip from it. He stood up, walked towards Yoshino, and handed her the element. "Yoshino, I'm glad that you regret your acts. But I hope that you'll talk less and do more. Show us your repentance by atoning for your acts."

Yoshino took the element and whispered, "Thank you."

"I'm just curious, but a destroyed being always leaves a pile of data behind. Why didn't Guile absorb them?" Hachiro asked. "They should have healed him completely."

"I didn't understand, but Guile managed to evolve and obliterate Genie in a hit," Yoshino answered.

"Obliterate Genie in a hit?" Hachiro gasped.

At this, he suddenly remembered about how Luccia created the flawed Chrono Cross element. The creation of the said object ended up destroying Viper Manor as well.

Now, without realizing the possible risk, Hachiro had given the said element to Yoshino so that she could receive her gadget. This meant that Yoshino's gadget itself had destructive capabilities.

But something made it worse. Guile himself had a monstrous power sleeping within his body, and evolving meant having part of the said strength unleashed. In conclusion, only one word could describe what Guile had done to Genie: overkill.

For a more specific answer, Hachiro believed that he had better have a discussion with Luccia before saying more about Yoshino's gadget.

"Mister, is something wrong?" Yoshino asked.

"Kind of…" Hachiro muttered. "For some fights later, don't let Guile evolve. I just have a bad feeling about his evolution."

"Why?" Yoshino inquired.

"Let's save it for next time, Yoshino," Hachiro replied. "I need to confirm this first."

Suddenly, a creak interrupted the conversation. Everybody turned to see what had happened.

Nana had walked out of the room. Standing still, she smiled widely at everybody.

Yoshino immediately sprang from her seat and rushed towards Nana. "Grandma! Good news?"

"Yes, Guile is sleeping soundly now," Nana replied.

"That's great!" Yoshino quickly walked the bedroom.

Seeing Ari and Akira running into the bedroom as well, Hachiro shouted, "Kiiiiids! This isn't your house, so be more polite!"

Chikara only sighed and smiled at his dad's behavior as he walked towards the bedroom slowly.

"Those kids!" Hachiro shrugged. At least, he was lucky to have suggested Draggy, Starky, and Pip to play in the pond outside. Otherwise, this house would be as noisy as a market.

Soon, Hachiro was back to his usual serious demeanor and cracked a stern look on his face.

_Better forget about this first. I have something to do._

Hachiro opened his briefcase and picked up a few sheets of ragged paper atop his black laptop. He then left it resting on the sofa as he stood up and walked towards Nana, who was looking into the bedroom.

"Mrs. Nana, can you do me a favor?" Hachiro asked.

"Yes, what's up, sir?" Nana asked back.

"I believe that Yoshino learns everything the hard way. At first, I planned to let her read these sheets of paper about Guile's biography so that she understands him more, but…" Hachiro bowed, his gaze dropping down to the wooden floor. "…I'm afraid that is she reads these, she'll feel horrible and keep blaming herself for being heartless to that man." He raised his head and offered Nana the yellowish documents. "So can you please keep these and only show Yoshino when she has felt better?"

Nana took the sheets of rugged paper and smiled. "Okay, I'll do it."

ooo


End file.
